Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2013
447. Deputy Brendan Smith asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a school (details supplied) in Dublin 9; if he intends to increase the number of special needs assistants to the school and bring the complement back to that which existed in 2012; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16888/13]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.
The NCSE allocates a level of SNA support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of all of the qualifying children enrolled in the school. A school's allocation of SNA support may alter from year to year as pupils enrol or leave a school or where a child's care needs have diminished over time. If a school is notified of a change in SNA support this is either because the number of qualifying children has changed or the assessed needs of the qualifying children have changed. The NCSE may only allocate SNAs to schools where valid applications meet the qualifying criteria. All schools have been advised to apply to the NCSE for SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15th March 2013 and schools will be notified by SENOs of their SNA allocation in advance of the 2013/14 school year, based on the number of valid applications received.
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.
