Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)

On the specific case the Deputy mentioned, schools cannot refuse students. While there may be a suggestion that it cannot accept the child because it does not have the support, students really cannot refuse students. What can happen is that the school would engage with the NCSE once the child is in the school to see what needs and supports are there. Reviews happen continuously throughout the year. That will not change. I mentioned earlier that the intention is for a clear timeline to be set out in line with when our teacher allocations happen at the beginning of the year, with reviews and appeals happening at two stages in the year, so that SNAs, special education teachers and everybody knows where they are going and when, with a clear pathway to work with schools, based on need. I stress that schools cannot refuse students because they feel they do not have the resources. Students should be starting in schools and then schools can engage with the NCSE to identify the need and what can be provided.

I might get the details about the second question from the Deputy. It ties into the same thing, including what the need in the school is and what the allocation is. I am not clear on whether a review was done by the NCSE or what happened there. The assessment of need would have been done separately through the HSE. Maybe the Deputy could provide me with the detail of that to help me to understand what is happening there.