Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 September 2023
303. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education if and when an SNA exceptional review process will be concluded in the case of a school (details supplied) who now have eleven special needs students, up from seven last year, who have one SNA on site but urgently require another; when a determination is anticipated to be used; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [39995/23]
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. It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).
The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.
For 2023, the spend by my department on special education has been substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the department’s total allocation for 2023.
This includes funding to support children with special educational needs in mainstream classes; funding for new special classes and new special school places; additional special educational teachers, special needs assistants (SNAs) and funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).
In 2023, the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 SNAs.
For the first time ever there will be 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 the responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.
SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.
SNAs are allocated to schools as a school based resource and not to individual children. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual principal/board of management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.
It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.
The NCSE have published the SNA allocations for the 2023/24 school year. For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and are available on the NCSE's website at: www.ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations
My 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 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: www.ncse.ie/application-for-sna-exceptional-review .
All schools have the contact details of their local special educational needs officer (SENO), and the SENO is available to offer assistance and advice schools. 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/regional-services-contact-list
The NCSE manages the exceptional review process and handles each case individually. Some review requests can be concluded as an office based exercise, whilst others require a school to be visited in order to observe the current deployment of SNA support in the school setting.
The time frame for concluding a review can vary depending on the school context or the nature of the information provided.
Following the outcome of the review, the NCSE can make the local SENO available to the school to discuss their current deployment of SNA supports in the school and to put these supports to the best advantage of the students. NCSE in-school support is also available to schools to offer further guidance and support.
As your query refers to the allocation of supports to a particular school, I will arrange to have it referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.
My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.
