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Special Educational Needs Staffing

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 September 2012

Tuesday, 18 September 2012

Ceisteanna (360)

Eoghan Murphy

Ceist:

360. Deputy Eoghan Murphy asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the following case regarding a reduced allocation of a special needs assistant in respect of a school (details supplied) in Dublin 6. [37006/12]

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Freagraí scríofa

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of such supports and the staffing resources available to my Department. All schools, including the school referred to by the Deputy were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2012/13 school year by 16th March, 2012.

All schools have now been advised by the NCSE of their SNA staffing allocation for the coming school year. Details of the allocations which have been made to each school are available at www.ncse.ie. Where schools subsequently enrolled new pupils with special educational needs who were not considered at the time that these allocations were made, or where new medical conditions have arisen in the interim, schools may apply to the NCSE for additional SNA support. I understand that the school referred to by the Deputy recently made a new application to the NCSE for additional SNA support. This application is currently being considered by the NCSE and the school will shortly be advised of the decision in relation to this application. It should be noted, however, that SNAs are not allocated to individual pupils. The NCSE allocates a level of SNA support for each school annually taking into account the care needs of all of the qualifying children enrolled in the school. SNAs should then be deployed by schools 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.

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