Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 110: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his attention has been drawn to instances in which schools are limiting the attendance of children with special educational needs on health and safety grounds; his views that this situation is unacceptable; if he concurs that in such instances all necessary resources to ensure a child can fully attend school are in place; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1725/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that I am not aware of any widespread difficulties regarding schools limiting the attendance of pupils with special educational needs on health and safety grounds.

The Deputy will be aware that all schools have access to a full range of supports to facilitate the enrolment and full attendance of pupils with special educational needs. These supports include a permanent allocation of additional teaching support in all Primary schools through the General Allocation Model of additional teacher support as well as additional resource teaching and Special Needs Assistant (SNA) care supports which may be allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) in respect of qualifying pupils.

In total, 9,950 whole time equivalent (WTE) Resource Teaching/Learning support posts and 10,575 WTE Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts are being provided for schools in the current school year. The NCSE has advised all schools of their resource teaching and SNA allocations for the current school year and has retained capacity to respond to late applications for SNA support for emergencies, acquired injuries, or new school entrants with care needs.

Other supports which are available for schools include the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) in post primary and the support teacher scheme in primary and also the support of National Educational Psychology Services. The National Educational Psychological Service has published "Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties - A Continuum of Support for Primary Schools - Guidelines for Teachers". In order to further assist schools, my Department will shortly publish new Guidelines for Schools for Supporting Students with Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties, in order to give further guidance to schools.

I am satisfied that schools have access to the range of supports which allow for the enrolment and full attendance of pupils with special educational needs to schools. In circumstances where it is agreed that the best interests of a child, or the effective provision of education for children with whom the child is to be educated, are not best served by a mainstream school placement, my Department also makes provision for special school and special class placements.

Finally, where a school refuses to enrol, or expels 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. The Deputy may also be aware that in 2011, I launched a "Discussion Paper on a Regulatory Framework for School Enrolment". My officials are co-ordinating the submissions received. The feedback from this consultation will help inform the nature and scope of a new regulatory framework for school enrolment, to make the process of enrolling in schools more open, equitable and consistent, not least for children with special educational needs. I will be reviewing the matters referred to by the Deputy as part of this process.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 111: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that documentation is produced for parents from either the National Council for Special Education or the special educational needs organiser outlining the way a decision was reached regarding the resources to be allocated to a child; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1726/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that the NCSE is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

Applications are made by schools directly to the NCSE for additional resources to meet the special educational needs of identified pupils. Accordingly, the NCSE informs the school of the decision in relation to their application, in writing.

Where parents seek to meet the SENO at any stage to discuss their particular case SENOs are available to do so. SENO contact details are available on the NCSEs website www.ncse.ie.

In order to provide further assistance and information for parents, the NCSE recently published a comprehensive Information Booklet for Parents for Children with Special Educational Needs which provides information to parents regarding provision of services. This information guide is available at www.ncse.ie.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 112: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions he is taking in conjunction with the National Council for Special Education to ensure a standardising of the decision-making process regarding resources allocated by special educational needs organisers; if he is concerned that standards can differ significantly from locality to locality; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1727/12]

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 for the provision of a range of educational services at local and national level for students with special educational needs. In particular, its network of Special Education Needs Organisers (SENOs) co-ordinate special needs education provision at local level and arrange for the delivery of special educational services. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

The NCSE adopts a consistent approach to the consideration of applications from schools for supports for children with special educational needs, in accordance with the policies of my Department. However, each case must be considered individually given the differing requirements of pupils with special educational needs and the fact that the care needs of pupils may emerge in schools in different ways, due to varying factors, including the layout and design of a school. The NCSE will also take into account the existing level of resources which schools may have, along with the individual diagnosis of a child and details of the care needs which might arise in a school setting outlined in professional reports.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 113: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to expedite the co-ordination of the assessment of needs process for a child with special educational needs prior to them commencing school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1728/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that, for children under the age of 5, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), liaises with Assessment Officers in the Health Service Executive (HSE) in respect of the assessment of need process under the 2005 Disability Act, 2005.

The Assessment Officer contacts the relevant SENO when an educational need is identified as part of the assessment process.

My Department's Circular 0020/2011 clarifies the roles of the NCSE and the HSE in relation to the assessment of need process, as well as the role of the school in this regard. This Circular is available on my Departments website at www.education.ie.

Simon Harris (Wicklow, Fine Gael)
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Question 114: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will consider reforming the role of special needs assistants in classrooms; if he has considered the experience of other education systems in Europe in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1729/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that my Department recently published a Value for Money (VFM) and Policy Analysis review of the Special Needs Assistant scheme. This review is available on my Department's website: www.education.ie. The review makes a number of recommendations for improving the efficiency and effectiveness of the scheme and with regards to the future basis for the scheme.

The review contains a Literature Review, which considered the national and international literature regarding approaches used to allocate support staff to schools and assessed the impact of support staff on students' outcomes. Information on the allocation and deployment of support staff to schools in ten other European Countries was also collected as part of this review and is presented in an Appendix to the review.

My Department has now established a working group which will consider and implement the recommendations of the SNA Value for Money and Policy Analysis review.