Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 237: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if there is a maximum level of additional teaching and learning supports for primary students; if any primary school student in the State had or has two full-time special needs assistants assigned to them; the reason the onus is on her Department to accept recommendations by qualified educational psychologists regarding additional teaching and learning supports for students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25779/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that my Department implemented a general allocation system of learning support/resource teachers (LS/RT) to mainstream primary schools in September 2005. The system is intended to cater for children with high-incidence special education needs such as borderline mild general learning disability and mild general learning disability and specific learning disability. The allocation is also intended to support those with learning support needs, that is, those functioning at or below the tenth percentile on a standardised test of reading and/or mathematics.

It is a matter for each school to identify the pupils with learning support and high-incidence special education needs that will receive supplementary teaching support. Each school will have enough resource teaching hours to provide its pupils with a level of support appropriate to their needs. The school can use its professional judgement to decide how these hours are divided between different children in the school, to ensure that all their needs are met. My Department issued a guidance circular to schools which contained detailed information on how the system operates. Individual allocations for pupils with special educational needs arising from low incidence disabilities continue to be made by the Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs).

The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through the local SENO, is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs (SEN) supports such as resource teaching and special needs assistant (SNA) support. The teaching and SNA support allocated are intended to enable schools to meet the needs of pupils as outlined in psychological and other reports.

In fulfilling this obligation, the NCSE requests the submission of relevant reports from psychologists and other professionals with applications for SEN resources. The criteria for allocation of such resources are set down in my Department's circulars having regard to the recommendations of the Report of the Special Education Review Committee, 1993, also known as the SERC Report. My Department's Circular SP ED 02/05 lists the low-incidence disability categories that require the submission of supporting professional reports. The Circular also specifies the eligibility criteria used by the NCSE in respect of these disabilities. Evidence to show that this criteria has been met must be included in the professional's report to enable the granting of the appropriate level of support. The requisite levels of support that may be sanctioned in respect of each low-incidence disability are also outlined in Circular SP ED 02/05.

There is no onus, per se, on my Department to accept the recommendations of a qualified educational psychologist in the allocation of additional teaching and learning supports for students. However, there is an onus on my Department and its agencies to give careful consideration to such recommendations within the terms of Department circulars, save in the most exceptional circumstances.

The extent of supports allocated to individual students as requested by the Deputy is not retained by my Department. I will forward the Deputy's question to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply in the event that they hold such information.