Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 12 May 2022
261. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the extent to which special needs requirements in terms of accommodation, teachers and SNAs in all schools throughout County Kildare at primary and second-level continue to be met in line with the requirements as set out by the various school authorities; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24078/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI wish to assure the Deputy that the provision of appropriate accommodation for pupils with special education needs is an absolute priority for Minister Foley and myself.
In order to make accommodation provision to meet the needs of students with special education requirements, my Department has close engagement with the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) which has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide. When the NCSE sanction a special class in a school, the school can apply to my Department for capital funding to re-configure existing spaces within the school building to accommodate the class or to construct additional accommodation. Similarly, where special schools wish to expand provision, the school can apply to my Department for capital funding to accommodate additional placements.
The NCSE has additionally provided my Department with projections of future requirements for classes for students with special education requirements. These are informing my Department's advance planning for special class accommodation.
This advance planning is building on the significant work to date in delivering additional classrooms for students with special education needs. Such classrooms for pupils with special education needs are included as standard in the accommodation brief for new school buildings and major extension projects, unless local circumstances indicate that they will not be required. Typically, two classrooms for pupils with special education needs are provided in new primary schools and four classrooms are provided in new 1,000 pupil post primary schools, with pro-rata provision for schools of other sizes.
My Department has a large pipeline of projects for delivery under the school building programme. The main elements of this pipeline currently involve in excess of 1,300 school building projects for delivery under the Department’s Large Scale and Additional Accommodation Scheme. These projects are currently in progress across the various stages of planning, design, tender and construction. Most of these projects are expected to be either under construction or completed in the period up to 2025 and are being progressed as quickly as possible. There are currently in excess of 250 school building projects at construction (on site) with a continuous stream of other projects at or near the tendering stage. It is anticipated that 150 to 200 school building projects will be completed annually during the 2022 to 2025 period.
The current status of approved projects is listed on a county by county basis on www.gov.ie and is updated on a monthly basis to reflect their progress through the various stages.
The Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile.
Under the allocation model, schools have been provided with a total allocation for special education needs support based on their school profile.
The provision of a profiled allocation is designed to give a fair allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support, but which provides a graduated allocation which takes into account the level of need in each school.
Schools are front-loaded with resources, based on each school’s profile. The allocations to schools include provision to support all pupils in the schools, including where a child receives a diagnosis after the allocation is received by a school, or where there are newly enrolling pupils to the school.
Both the Department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) are committed to ensuring that all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which their school profiles have been calculated.
The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school 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.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. 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.
