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Special Educational Needs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 1 February 2022

Tuesday, 1 February 2022

Questions (169)

Holly Cairns

Question:

169. Deputy Holly Cairns asked the Minister for Education the steps she is taking to ensure that each child or young person who is entitled to a SNA or resource hours is allocated these supports. [4649/22]

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Written answers

Very significant levels of financial provision are made to ensure that all children with special educational needs can be provided with an education appropriate to their needs.

The State currently spends approximately €2 Billion - almost a quarter - of its annual educational and training budget on making additional provision for children with special educational needs.

This represents an increase of over 60% in total expenditure since 2011, at which point €1.247 Billion per annum was provided.

Budget 2022 provides for the creation 980 new teaching posts and 1,165 SNA posts in special education. This new investment is required to meet the needs of students with special educational needs enrolled in mainstream classes; students to be enrolled in new special classes and new special school places and the needs of new and developing schools. There are predetermined levels of teaching and SNA support for both special classes and special schools.

A new model for allocating special education teachers in respect of students with special needs enrolled in mainstream classes was introduced in 2017. The Special Education Teacher allocation process provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile. The profile of each school takes account of enrolments and a number of other factors that are considered to be indicative of the level of need in each school. There is a commitment to update profiles on a regular basis with the last update being for the 2019/20 school.

In addition, there is a provision for schools to seek additionality through the Exceptional Needs Review process if there is a significant change in their level of need in between profile updates.

The allocation of the additional teaching support for students with special educational needs in mainstream classes is a matter for each school and guidelines have been provided in this regard.

In relation to SNA support for students in mainstream classes, schools receive an allocation based on overall care need in the school. It is then a matter for each school to allocate this resource following the principle that those with greatest need should receive the most support.

There is also provision for schools to seek additionality in respect of the SNA allocation where circumstances have changed significantly.

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