Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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I welcome the Minister of State to the House. This matter relates to the provision of a special needs assistant for a particular child who shall re-enter mainstream school in September. His parents are about to appeal the decision on the grounds that they do not believe the criteria of the Department of Education and Skills was met. The reality is that he requires, particularly in his formative years, a lot of help and attention which can only be provided by a special needs assistant in the classroom. He has been granted four and half hours of resource help but it is insufficient for his needs. If he does not get the support, he will fail to reach his potential and he may end up becoming dependent on State supports rather than the independent young man who his parents believe he can become once he receives support at this critical time.

He currently behind his peer group in terms of his educational competence and that is further supplemented by his particular self-care needs. He is a nine year old boy but as he has grown, he has become more aware of the level at which his classmates are compared with himself and he has become frustrated as a result. In the absence of SNA support in the classroom, he is likely to fall further behind as he becomes more frustrated, a view supported by a professional opinion.

The discharge report dated March of this year from the speech and language therapy class he attended for two years highlights that he continues to have severe difficulties with receptive and expressive language skills. In the notes, it is stated that he will continue to need support in the school given his dual diagnosis of developmental co-ordination disorder and specific language impairment, as well as his difficulties with working memory and processing speed, as assessed by a psychologist. The report also stated that not only will he find it hard to access the curriculum because of this, but that it would support any application made for additional help.

Recently, the boy has been referred to the primary care clinical psychology services under the Disability Act 2005 and the child development team for an autism spectrum disorder assessment. He is waiting for the team to carry out a multidisciplinary assessment which has led to a delay in getting an updated professional report to identify his needs. I mention the delay in carrying out an assessment because the NCSE mentioned that it wanted a more recent report than the 2013 report that it has on file.

The 2013 report stated that he should have access to a special needs assistant. Despite interventions by various teams on a one-to-one basis, he is still in serious need of a classroom assistant. Classroom assistance is not just relevant to his receptive and expressive language skills but to his self-care needs. I will not go into the detail here but they are very important. The information that the NCSE has, coupled with the result of an assessment that I hope will soon take place, underlines and illustrates the breadth and gravity of the additional supports that he needs. It especially highlights the full-time classroom support that he needs. His needs would be above those of other children of the same age who do not share his diagnosis.

Under the current rules to qualify for a special needs assistant, a child generally must be on the more extreme side in terms of needs and are require assistance with feeding, going to the toilet or lifting. This particular child meets a lot of those criteria and the 2013 report stated that he would need a special needs assistant. He was two years away from the mainstream education to which he will return in September. That addressed some of his needs but not all of them. The report states that he has severe difficulties, in particular with language skills. He has had some one-to-one sessions about self-care but they have not been successful in terms of long-term practical application. Therefore, he still needs the care and assistance in the classroom that a full-time SNA would provide.

The boy has been given four and half hours of resource teaching but it is only a drop in the ocean in terms of meeting his needs in the classroom. I do not usually raise individual cases in the Seanad but his parents approached me. I have dealt with them for a long time and know them very well. This issue is of grave concern to them. His mother is frantic with worry that a lack of a special needs assistant will stunt his development completely and he will be left behind in terms of educational and self-care issues. He has not reached the same standard as other children his own age who are becoming aware that he has particular needs and they are starting to point them out which has made him feel self-conscious. It is not just his educational development but his personal development that is being affected and that is why I raise this issue today.

Damien English (Meath West, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Senator for raising this matter today. I wish to assure the House that the education of children with special educational needs remains a key priority for this Government. We have been resolutely committed to protecting and, in some instances, increasing the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a requirement to make expenditure reductions across a range of areas. It is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending. This year alone, over €1.37 billion or 15% of the Department's budget is being spent to provide supports to enable learners with special educational needs access an education appropriate to their needs.

The SNA scheme, in particular, has been a major factor in both ensuring the successful integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream education, and the provision of support to pupils enrolled in special schools and special classes. As part of budget 2015, the Minister announced that an additional 365 SNA posts will be provided in 2015 to take into account increased demand and demographic growth and to ensure that children can continue to have access to additional supports in school. There is now provision for 11,330 SNA posts in 2015 which is the highest level of SNA provision that we have ever had. These increases, building on increases which have already been provided in recent years, will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.

I want to take this opportunity to assure the House that schools, which have enrolled children who qualify for support from an SNA, will continue to be allocated SNA support. The House will be aware that the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, is responsible for allocating resource teachers and SNAs to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within the Department's criteria in allocating such support and these criteria are set out in Department's circular 30/2014.

All schools were asked to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2015-2016 school year by 18 March 2015. The NCSE continued to accept applications after this date in recognition that enrolments may not have been completed or where assessments were not completed. On conclusion of this process, the NCSE evaluated the level of SNAs required to meet the needs of schools for the coming year and advised the Department on the quantum of SNAs that would need to be provided to meet this need. Advice from the NCSE has been received and the Department is working to finalise its consideration of this as quickly as possible. Details of SNA allocations to schools for 2015-2016 will be available on the NCSE website on completion of this process.

The Senator's specific query relates to the allocation of an SNA for an individually named child. It is important this House is aware 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, like the example given. I will ask the NCSE to examine the matter and to respond directly to the Senator. I thank her once again for raising this matter and I will make sure it is followed up.

Kathryn Reilly (Sinn Fein)
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I thank the Minister of State for his response. Time is of the essence. The family, in particular, the parents are trying to gather all of the documentation to lodge an appeal. They are afraid they will miss the deadline and, therefore, their son will not have supports for a year. Anything that can be done to make sure that the NCSE replies in a timely manner would be greatly appreciated.