Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 18 September 2013
281. Deputy Tom Fleming asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will immediately reverse the decision to cut special needs assistants hours by 15% as this decision will have serious implications for children with learning difficulties; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [37144/13]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that the level of resources being devoted to supporting children with Special Educational Needs has been maintained at €1.3 billion this year. This includes provision for 10,575 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and nearly 10,000 Learning Support and Resource Teachers. These resources have been protected despite the ongoing severe financial position and a requirement to make expenditure savings across a range of areas. There has been no reduction to the number of SNA posts being provided for schools for the coming school year. This provision remains at 10,575 posts, which will ensure that all children who qualify for access to SNA support for the coming school year will receive access to such support. In relation to the allocation of resource teaching support for schools, the Deputy will be aware that in June of this year I authorised the NCSE to maintain the level of resource teaching allocations to be provided for students with special educational needs for the current school year to the 2012/13 levels. There will therefore not be a reduction in resource teaching time for these pupils over the amount of support provided last year. Details of the SNA and resource teaching allocations which have been made to schools by the NCSE to date for the 2013/2014 school year are now available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie, which provides details of the SNA and resource teaching allocations for each school on a school by school and per county basis.
The Deputy will also be aware that the NCSE recently published comprehensive policy advice on Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools. I have, as suggested by the Report, requested the NCSE to establish a Working Group to develop a proposal, for consideration, for a new allocation model for teaching supports for children with Special Educational Needs based on the profiled educational needs of children in schools, and which will aim to ensure that resources are directed to those children and schools who need them most.
