Data on the number of pupils enrolled in each school are available on the Statistics Section of my Department's website at http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Statistics/Data-on-Individual-Schools/. The most recent published information is provisional data for the 2014/2015 school year. Final data in relation to the 2014/15 school year will be published later in the current school year.
The teacher allocation and redeployment process for the 2015/16 school year is currently underway in my Department. The allocation processes at both primary and post primary level also include an appeals mechanism under which schools can appeal against the allocation due to them under the staffing schedules. The Appeal Boards operate independently of the Department and their decisions are final. The final staffing position for all schools at primary and post primary level will ultimately not be known until the Autumn. At that stage the allocation process will be fully completed and any appeals to the Staffing Appeal Boards will have been considered.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support to schools to support children with special educational needs and additional care needs respectively. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.
As part of Budget 2015, I announced that an additional 365 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts are being provided for 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.
Details of resource teaching and SNA allocations which have been made to each school for 2014/15 are available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie.
The NCSE is currently processing applications from schools for resource teaching and SNA support for the coming school year. Schools will be notified of their 2015/16 allocations shortly.
I will arrange to have the Deputy's question forwarded to the NCSE for their direct reply in respect of information which has been requested regarding allocations to schools in 2011.
