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Special Educational Needs.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 31 March 2004

Wednesday, 31 March 2004

Questions (155, 156, 157, 158)

Jack Wall

Question:

155 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science the methodology used by his Department in sanctioning funding to provide special needs assistants for pupils; the criteria that parents of pupils in need of such assistance has to meet or supply in obtaining a successful decision from the Department; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10161/04]

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Jack Wall

Question:

156 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science the methodology used by his Department in assessing applications for the provision of special needs for children; the criteria that must be met by the pupil and the school to ensure a successful decision; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10162/04]

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Jack Wall

Question:

157 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science the guidelines the Department has in relation to resource teaching; the number of pupil/teacher ratio; the method of allocation of hours for the pupil; the criteria a pupil or a school must meet to obtain such resource hours; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10163/04]

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Written answers

I propose to take questions Nos. 155, 156 and 157, together.

A special needs assistant, SNA, may be approved to assist a pupil who has a significant medical need for such assistance, a significant impairment of physical or sensory function or where behaviour is such that the pupil is a danger to himself or herself or other pupils. The current criteria used in connection with the allocation of SNA support are outlined in circular 07/02.

Any application received will be considered in the context of the criteria set out in the circular and the existing level of SNA provision in the school. The various levels of resource teaching support for pupils with special educational needs are outlined in my Department's circular 08/02. The numbers of hours available range from 2.5 hours per week to five hours per week. Each pupil allocated resource teaching provision must meet the criteria laid down in the circular.

Both circulars referred to, 7/02 and 8/02, may be accessed in my Department's website under the heading, children with special needs.

My Department is at present reviewing existing arrangements for the allocation of special educational supports to primary schools. In that context, my officials have initiated discussions on the matter with representative interests. At this stage, it would be premature to anticipate the outcome. I wish to point out, however, that the basic purpose of that review is to ensure that each school has the level of resources required to cater for its pupils with special educational needs.

Breeda Moynihan-Cronin

Question:

158 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Science when his Department proposes to deal with an application submitted in May 2003 for a special needs assistant for a person (details supplied) in a school in County Kerry; the reason for the extraordinary delay in dealing with the application; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10248/04]

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The school referred to by the Deputy currently has the services of one shared learning support post, based, and one resource teaching post. I can confirm that my Department has received applications for special educational resources, SER, from the school referred to by the Deputy, including an application for the pupil in question.

SER applications received between 15 February and 31 August 2003, including the one for the pupil in question, are being considered at present. In all, more than 5,000 such applications were received. Priority was given to cases involving children starting school last September and all of these cases were responded to before or soon after the commencement of the current school year.

The balance of more than 4,000 applications has been reviewed by a dedicated team comprising members of my Department's inspectorate and the National Educational Psychological Service. These applications are being further considered in the context of the outcome of surveys of SER provision conducted over the past year or so. Account is also being taken of the data submitted by schools as part of the recent nationwide census of SER provision.

The arrangements for processing applications received after 31 August 2003, will be considered in the context of the outcome of discussions on a weighted system of allocation of resource teaching support. A further communication will be sent to schools in this regard.

The processing of the applications is a complex and time-consuming operation. However, my Department is endeavouring to have this completed as quickly as possible and my officials will then respond to all applicant schools. Pending a response, schools are advised to refer to circular 24/03, which issued in September 2003. This circular contains practical advice on how to achieve the most effective deployment of resources already allocated for special educational needs within the school.

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