Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 27 September 2017
105. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to the concept of streamlining; if there is such a concept in the provision and allocation of special needs assistants; and the meaning of same in terms of the provision of special needs assistants. [40894/17]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to advise the Deputy that the concept of streamlining in relation to the provision of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support has not been drawn to my attention heretofore.
My Department’s policy is that children with special educational needs should be included in mainstream placements with additional supports provided, unless such a placement would not be in their best interests or in the interests of the children with whom they are to be educated, as is provided for under Section 2 of the Education of Persons with Special Needs Act 2004. Some children may be supported in a special class attached to a mainstream school. These students have the option, where appropriate, of full/partial integration and interaction with other pupils. Other children may have such complex needs that they are best placed in a special school.
My Department, therefore, provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools, which have enrolled pupils with special educational needs, in order to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education.
My Department's SNA scheme is designed to provide recognised schools with additional adult support staff to cater for the care needs of pupils with disabilities in an educational context, where the nature of these care needs have been outlined in professional reports as being so significant that a pupil will require adult assistance in order to be able to attend school and to participate in education and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE which is an independent statutory body) of which, its functions include planning and co-ordinating the provision of education and support services to children with special educational needs in conjunction with schools and the Health Service Executive (HSE). The NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports as required, including Special Need Assistance support as required. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support as set out in accordance with Circular 30 of 2014.
Responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational supports and resources to be allocated to schools to support individual pupils rests with the NCSE. In making allocations to schools, the NCSE takes into account the assessed individual needs of all children with identified needs in the school. It should be noted that SNA allocations are not made to individual children, but are made to schools to support the care needs of children with assessed special educational needs in the school.
An additional 975 SNA posts have been made available for allocation to schools from September 2017 which is a 7.5% increase to meet the demands for the new school year. A total of 13,990 SNA posts are now available at a gross annual cost of €458 million. This is more SNAs than we have ever had previously and will ensure that all children who qualify for SNA support can continue to receive access to such support. In total, the number of SNAs available has increased by over 32% since 2011, when 10,575 posts were available.
Details of SNA allocations which have been made to schools have been published by the NCSE on their website at www.ncse.ie.
The organisation of supports within schools is a matter for each individual school to manage, taking into account each child's individual needs. 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 supports, including SNA support, is utilised.
Parents who have concerns regarding the manner in which the supports which have been provided to support their child's education are being applied in school should, in the first instance, raise this matter directly with their school Principal or the Board of Management of the school.
