I propose to take Questions Nos. 179, 180 and 187 together.
The policy of my Department is that children with special educational needs, including children with autism and ADHD should be included where possible and appropriate in mainstream placements with additional supports provided. In circumstances where children with special educational need require more specialised interventions, special school or special class places are also available.
All State-funded primary and post primary schools have been allocated additional resources to provide for children with special educational needs enrolled in school.
For children for whom mainstream provision may not be appropriate, my Department has provided placement options in some 125 special schools which have approximately 1,000 teachers and approximately 860 special classes and units located around the country, 96 of which are early intervention classes for young children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
Primary and Post Primary schools have a permanent allocation of additional teaching supports to provide for children whose educational psychological assessment places them in the high incidence, or less complex, disability category.
Separately, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) for children with additional care needs, as outlined in Circular 00030/2014 and additional resource teaching hours to schools for children who have been assessed within the low incidence, or more complex, category of special need, as defined by my Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.
I recently announced, as part of Budget 2015, that an additional 365 Special Needs Assistant posts would be provided in 2015, as well as an additional 480 Resource Teachers, to take into account increased demand and demographic growth and to ensure that children can continue to have access to additional supports in school.
This is the highest number of Resource Teaching and SNA support that we have ever had. These increases, building on increases which have already been provided in recent years, will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.
Other supports include enhanced levels of school capitation payable to special schools and special classes, Special School Transport arrangements, the National Educational Psychological Service, an extended school year for pupils who have either a severe/profound general learning disability or who have autism and the provision for Assistive Technology/specialised equipment support for pupils with Special Educational Needs.
I wish to advise the Deputy that I have not had any significant level of correspondence from schools in Co. Kildare in relation to special needs teachers and special needs assistants.
Correspondence from schools in Kildare have mainly been in relation to general staffing issues.
We have a growing population of young people in this country and despite the difficult financial circumstances we face as a country, we prioritised education so that the number of teachers we have in the system has also grown in order to protect existing pupil teacher ratios.
Staffing schedules operate in a clear and transparent manner and treats all similar types of schools equally irrespective of location. My main priority for any additional resources for the foreseeable future will be to cater for the continuing increase in demographics at all levels in the education system. There were a thousand more teachers employed in schools around the country in the last school year, than there was the year before. There will be a further increase of circa 1,300 teachers in the current school year.
