Written answers
Thursday, 4 July 2013
Department of Education and Skills
Special Educational Needs Staffing
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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118. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason the number of special needs assistants allocated to a school (details supplied) in County Galway has been reduced from 4 to 3; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32665/13]
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy 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, including the allocation of resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools. The NCSE operates within my Department's established criteria for the allocation of Special Education supports and the staffing resources available to my Department.
SNA allocations are made to schools by the NCSE annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support each year.
All schools were advised to apply to the NCSE for resource teaching and SNA support for the 2013/14 school year by 15th March 2013.
Details of the SNA allocations which have been made to schools by the NCSE for the 2013/2014 school year are now available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie, which provides details of the SNA allocations for each school on a school by school and per county basis.
Where schools have enrolled children who were not considered at the time that these allocations were made, or where schools are seeking a revision to the quantum of SNA support which has been allocated to them for the coming school year, they should contact the NCSE regarding this matter. In general a revision to SNA allocations will only be made in circumstances where schools have enrolled new pupils or where schools can demonstrate that they do not have sufficient SNA posts to cater for the care needs of all of the qualifying children in their school.
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.
Denis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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119. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when a circular on the redeployment of special needs assistants will be circulated; the reason for the delay; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [32666/13]
Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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As the Deputy will be aware, a new set of proposals for a public service agreement were put forward by the Labour Relations Commission which now form the Public Service Stability Agreement 2013-2016 (the Haddington Road Agreement).
The Government has committed to implementing the terms of the Haddington Road Agreement for grades represented by Unions which have signed up to the Haddington Road Agreement.
One aspect of the Haddington Road Agreement refers to supplementary assignment arrangements for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) and as both Unions that represent SNAs namely, SIPTU and IMPACT, have now signed up to the Haddington Road Agreement, the Department has implemented supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs for the 2013/2014 school year.
The detailed arrangements are set out in Departmental Circular 0037/2013 which issued on 1 July 2013.
I set out below a copy of the Haddington Road Agreement and a copy of Circular 0037/2013 for your information.
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