Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 October 2022
444. Deputy Pauline Tully asked the Minister for Education the plans she has in place to introduce a personal assistant service (personalised budget) for children with disabilities in schools, which could greatly assist in getting the specific help they need while in a mainstream setting; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51525/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraI would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:
Enabling children with special educational needs and disabilities to receive an education is a priority for this Government.
For 2022, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs.
For 2023, this spend will be substantially increased by over 10%, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.
This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.
This includes additional teaching and care supports. It also includes funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for an additional 54 psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes.
For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 Special needs assistants. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities.
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.
Circular 0030/2014 provides details of the primary care needs for which SNA support will usually be provided and sets out the types of secondary care associated tasks which SNAs may often perform, but only once they have been allocated on the basis of a requirement to provide for primary care needs.
While the education system focuses on supporting the teaching and learning needs of students with disabilities, the HSE is responsible for providing additional health and social care supports in Children’s Disability Network Teams across the country. Children’s Disability Network Teams (CDNTs) provide a single, uniform and equitably accessible system of disability services for children and young people with complex needs.
In terms of considering a new model of supports for children with special educational needs and disabilities in our schools, my Department is currently providing funding for the School Inclusion Model project which is operating in some schools. The SIM is based on policy advice from the National Council for Special Education which works on the principle of providing the right support at the right time delivered by a range of personnel with relevant qualifications and skill-sets. The purpose of the SIM is to build the capacity of participating schools so they can support the inclusion of all children particularly those with special educational needs (SEN). It is intended to review the impact of the SIM project to inform future policy decisions. Consideration of the NCSE policy advice on special classes and special schools will also be significant in this regard also.
There are no plans to introduce a personal assistant service (personal budget) for children with disabilities in schools at this time.
