Regina Doherty (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Question 187: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will provide a copy of the criteria within which the National Council for Special Education operates when allocating resources to schools to support children with special needs. [31416/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that 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 schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. My Departments criteria in relation to the allocation of SNA support is set out in Circular 07/02. Special Needs Assistants are allocated to schools to cater for the care needs of children who have an assessed special educational need. Schools then manage and deploy the SNA resources which have been allocated to them to provide for the care needs of designated pupils. Circular 0006/2011 which was issued by my Department in January of this year sets out the revised arrangements for the allocation by the NCSE of SNA posts with reference to the cap on the number of posts. In considering applications for SNA support, or any review of the level of SNA support which has been provided to schools, SENOs actively engage with both schools and parents to consider the level of SNA support which may be required to meet the care needs of the children concerned, taking into account the level of SNA support currently available to the school. The NCSE also has a retained capacity to respond to emergency cases, or where additional care needs arise for schools as a result of new school enrolments, injuries or diagnoses, during the school year, in the context of existing SNA provision in the school. The NCSE will advise schools in the near future of a process to review allocation decisions to ensure that correct procedures were followed and that they comply with my Department's policy. The merits of individual allocation decisions will not be open to appeal under this mechanism. My Department's Circular 37/2011 sets out the arrangements for the 2011/12 school year for the allocation of Resource Teaching hours for children with assessed special educational needs. Finally, the NCSE has issued circulars 01/11 and 02/11 setting out details regarding criteria surrounding allocations and the timeframes for applying for supports for pupils for the 2011/12 school year.