Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
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Question 200: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the options available to parents in which they have been advised by the school in which their child is enrolled that the school cannot meet their child's special educational needs; if, in such circumstances, it is the responsibility of the local special educational needs organiser to identify an alternative suitable school placement and in the absence of an alternative, if he is obliged to provide home or school tuition support; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15065/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the enrolment of a child in a school is a matter in the first instance for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment in schools. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) is the statutory agency which assists parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The NEWB will try to help parents to find an alternative school placement if their child has been unable to secure a placement to date. Where a school refuses to enrol a pupil, the school is obliged to inform parents of their right under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 to appeal that decision to the Secretary General of my Department. Where an appeal under Section 29 is upheld, the Secretary General may direct a school to enrol a pupil. The Deputy may be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The SENOs co-ordinate special needs education provision at local level and arrange for the delivery of special educational services. They act as single points of contact for parents of students with special educational needs. Another specific function of the SENO is to identify appropriate educational placements for children with special educational needs. 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. In considering applications for teaching and SNA support for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the needs identified in the professional reports and decide whether the circumstances come within the Department's criteria. They then consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupil from its current level of resources. Finally, I wish to clarify for the Deputy that the home tuition scheme provides funding to parents to provide education at home for children who, for a number of reasons such as chronic illness, are unable to attend school. The scheme was extended in recent years to facilitate tuition for children awaiting a suitable educational placement. Home tuition support may therefore be made available for a child for whom there is no school place available, subject to the scheme's criteria.