Ciarán Lynch (Cork South Central, Labour)
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To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if scribe and reader assistance is available to students at times other than for State examinations; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14843/13]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that reasonable accommodations for students with special educational needs, who are taking State examinations, may include the provision of a reader or scribe, subject to the conditions set out by the State Examinations Commission, which are available at www.examinations.ie.

Such accommodations are specific to participation in state examinations and are therefore provided only for that purpose. The accommodations are intended to limit the impact of a candidate's special educational need or disability on their exam performance, while not giving the candidate an unfair advantage. The additional supports which are provided for children with special educational needs throughout the school year include additional resource teaching or learning support, either through the General Allocation Model or individual allocation, lower pupil teacher ratios in special schools and classes, assistive technology support where required, and access to Special Needs Assistance support, for children who have care needs.