Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 April 2023
565. Deputy Carol Nolan asked the Minister for Education to address the inadequate levels of special needs supports being extended to a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [17519/23]
View answerI would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:
Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.
For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.
My Department has allocated 1,165 additional special needs assistants (SNAs) to schools in the past year and in Budget 2023 an additional 1,194 SNAs are being provided to support schools and will be allocated as follows: 735 to support students in new special classes, 124 to support students in new special school places and 335 to support students in mainstream classes.
In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers.
For the first time ever, by the end of this year, we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 SNAs. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.
The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. A school can apply to the NCSE for a review of its SNA allocation if it is insufficient to meet the needs of its students.
Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website. ncse.ie/application-for-sna-exceptional-review.
The NCSE endeavour to respond to all applications for exceptional review received as expediently as possible and in that regard, it will prioritise applications from schools with no current SNA allocation and developing schools. The exceptional review process for mainstream allocations will be available to schools throughout the 2022/23 school year.
The NCSE have confirmed that they have received and processed a recent application for an SNA exceptional review from the school referred to by the Deputy. The NCSE state that the review outcome letters will issue to the school this week.
The NCSE has developed an appeal mechanism for schools who are not satisfied with the outcome of the exceptional review. Local special educational needs organisers (SENOs) will provide information and clarification to schools on the outcome where requested. Where schools wish to appeal the outcome of the review, they must do so using the prescribed form provided by the NCSE: ncse.ie/ncse-appeals-process
All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, and the SENO is available to offer assistance and advice to the school. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.
The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations and the school should liaise with the NCSE directly in the event that additional supports are required.
The SNA allocations for the 2023/2024 school year are presently being development by my department and will be advised to schools as soon as possible and in line with previous year timelines.
