Pat Breen (Clare, Fine Gael)
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Question 527: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the decision on the allocation of a special needs assistant to a child (details supplied) in County Clare; if they are entitled to ongoing individual support from the National Council for Special Education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24941/09]

Batt O'Keeffe (Cork North West, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to primary and post primary schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

Applications for SNAs may be considered by the NCSE where a pupil has a significant medical need for such assistance and where there are identified care needs arising from a diagnosed disability. A pupil's level of care may diminish over time as the child matures. Pupils may move to a different school or on to post-primary school. In such situations, the NCSE will review and adjust the SNA support required in the school. This may mean that some pupils who had previously been supported by a full time SNA may have their needs met through the shared support of an SNA or perhaps they may have no need for SNA support.

The NCSE will undertake to review a decision taken by a SENO on foot of a request from a school or parents/guardians, when accompanied by relevant additional information, which may not have been to hand at the time of the decision. The NCSE has outlined this process in its Circular 01/05.

The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has arranged for its Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) to review Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations in all schools with a view to ensuring that the criteria governing the allocation of such posts are properly met.

In this context, my Department recently published circular letter SP ED 0037/2009 on the Department's website www.education.ie. Given the proximity of the end of this school year and, in the light of the fact that those schools yet to be reviewed will have prepared for the new school year in advance of being reviewed, my Department is allowing exceptional transitional arrangements for schools where the SNA allocation is being adjusted. With the exception of cases where a child with SNA support is leaving a school, schools may, if they so wish, retain the existing cohort of SNAs until 31 January 2010. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

I have arranged for the information provided by the Deputy to be forwarded to the NCSE for a direct reply.