The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. This now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts. This number is 10,575 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts.
The NCSE advised all mainstream schools of their SNA allocations for the 2011/12 school year and published statistical information in relation to the allocation of SNA posts and resource teaching hours to Primary, Special and Post Primary Schools. The information is provided on a county by county and school by school basis on its website at www.ncse.ie. The NCSE is currently reviewing SNA allocations for special schools and also considering new applications for SNA support received from mainstream schools since September. The NCSE retained 475 SNA posts in order to allocate them over the current school year in cases such as emergency, appeals, acquired injuries or new school entrants with care needs. The allocation of the 475 SNA posts is underway.
It is expected that the bulk of the posts will be distributed to schools by the end of November while a number of posts will be retained for allocation throughout the remainder of the school year. It is considered that with equitable and careful management and distribution of the significant level of SNA resources being provided, that there will be sufficient posts to provide access to SNA support for all children who require such care support to attend school, in accordance with my Department's criteria.
