Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 45: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on correspondence (details supplied) regarding reduced support for pupils [30227/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Firstly I wish to advise the Deputy that this Government has maintained funding for resources for children with special educational needs at a time when there is a continued requirement to make expenditure savings across a range of areas. There is no overall reduction in Resource Teaching or Special Needs Assistant (SNA) numbers for the coming school year.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports including Resource Teaching and SNA support, to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of such supports and the staffing resources available to my Department. Specifically in relation to Resource Teaching allocations, I wish to clarify that the number of posts available to the NCSE for allocation is 5,500 which is the same as last year. This is on top of 4,450 resource and learning support teachers provided to all schools to support children with less complex, or high incidence, learning needs.

In the context of the 5,500 WTE Resource Teaching posts available to the NCSE for allocation for the coming school year, the number of valid applications received for the 2012/2013 school year to date has risen marginally with rising enrolments in schools. It is necessary therefore to manage these resources so that every child who needs support can access support and are treated the same. In order to ensure there are sufficient remaining posts to make allocations for late or emergency applications, while staying within the Employment Control Framework (ECF), the NCSE will initially allocate 85% of assessed needs to schools. Schools are being asked to make up any time lost through grouping of students and more effective management of teaching time, to ensure that every child who needs support can access support and are treated the same.

As a result of the allocations announced on June 13th by the NCSE, 55% of schools will see no change in SNA allocation for the 2012/13 school year. 23% of schools will see some reductions in SNA allocations, while 22% of schools will see some increases in their allocations. This clearly illustrates that SNA allocations are adjusted each year, to ensure that the children who need SNA support to assist with their care needs, are provided with that support.

Finally, I wish to assure the Deputy that it is my intention that resources available to my Department are utilised to optimum benefit to ensure the best possible outcomes for students with special educational needs. In this regard my Department is seeking advice from the NCSE on policy options for the allocation of these resources in future, with a view to ensuring that the most appropriate and efficient model is in place in the coming years.