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Special Educational Needs Staff Data

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 29 May 2018

Tuesday, 29 May 2018

Ceisteanna (245)

Joan Burton

Ceist:

245. Deputy Joan Burton asked the Minister for Education and Skills the basis on which special needs assistants and other support services teachers are allocated to DEIS schools; the changes made in relation to the process of allocation of special needs assistants, SNAs, to these schools; if the special educational needs organiser, SENO, has discretion in relation to the allocation of SNAs to DEIS schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [23337/18]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school. 

The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in Department Circular 0030/2014, which is available on the Department's website at www.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed. The Department’s policy is to ensure that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support. 

While the DEIS status of a school is not a relevant criteria for the determination of the levels of SNA supports to be allocated to schools, research has shown that DEIS schools will typically include in their enrolments a substantially higher number of pupils with Disabilities than schools which do not serve disadvantaged communities and as such are more likely to have higher numbers of both Special Education Teachers and SNAs.

In considering applications for SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources. SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The manner in which SNAs are allocated is standard across the education sector regardless of a school's designation. 

SNA allocations to all schools can change from year to year as children with care needs leave the school, as new children with care needs enrol in a school and as children develop more independent living skills and their care needs diminish over time.

I was very pleased to announce on Friday 18th May that 800 additional Special Needs Assistants will be allocated for the beginning of the next school year, with a further 140 expected to be allocated by the end of the year.

I was also pleased that the announcement on Friday was in keeping with the commitment made last year to inform schools of the September 2018 allocation before the end of May. In making this announcement at this time the Department is providing certainty to schools, parents and of course SNA's in relation to the posts that will be in place for the coming school year.  

By the end of this year, there will be a total of 15,000 Special Needs Assistants working in our schools, a 42% increase on 2011. The National Council for Special Education notified the schools of their SNA allocations on Friday last and the details of these allocations are now published and available on their website. 

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