Billy Timmins
Question:617 Deputy Billy Timmins asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding a school (details supplied) in County Wicklow; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [3544/10]
View answerTuesday, 26 January 2010
Questions (526)
Written answers
I assume that the Deputy is referring to special needs assistant (SNA) support in the school in question. My Department does not fund classroom assistant posts. As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. SNAs are sanctioned to schools to enable them support the care needs of pupils with disabilities. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie. I have arranged for the information provided by the Deputy to be forwarded to the NCSE for its direct reply.