Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 November 2018
263. Deputy John Lahart asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether it is acceptable that a parent has been turned down by 24 different schools in terms of providing a place for their child that is on the autism spectrum (details supplied). [49246/18]
View answerThe National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of Special Needs Organisers, for the development and delivery and co-ordination of education services to children with Special Educational Needs, including the establishment of special class and special school placements.
Since 2011, the NCSE has increased the number of special classes from 548 in 2011 to 1,459 across the country now, of which 1,196 are Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) special classes.
The enrolment of a child to a school is a matter, in the first instance, for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools and it does not maintain details of waiting lists in schools.
Parents/guardians who may need advice or are experiencing difficulties in locating a school placement should contact their local Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) who can assist in identifying an appropriate educational placement for their child. Contact details are available on www.ncse.ie.
The NCSE works in collaboration with the Educational Welfare Services (EWS) of the Child and Family Agency which is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child or can offer assistance where a child is out of school. The local service is delivered through the national network of Educational Welfare Officers (EWO). Contact details are available at http://www.tusla.ie/get-in-touch/education-and-welfare/.
In circumstances, where there is no school placement available for a child with Special Educational Needs, my Department will provide the Home Tuition grant towards the provision of 20 hours tuition per week as an interim measure until the NCSE confirms that a placement is available.
It is suggested that the parents in this particular case get in touch with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) as soon as possible.
