Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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189. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a recent circular from his Department (details supplied) regarding the provision of special needs assistants; if he will address the concerns raised by parents; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20200/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that in December 2013, the Government announced it was increasing the number of SNAs available for allocation to schools, to reflect demographic growth and increased demand for SNA support. The existing provision for 10,575 posts has been increased to 10,965 posts being made available for allocation by the end of 2014. This will bring to almost 11,000 the number of SNA posts available to work with children who have an assessed care need requiring SNA support in primary, post primary, and special schools. These extra posts will ensure that the Government's policy of ensuring that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.

In June 2011, the Department of Education and Skills published a Value for Money and Policy Review of the SNA scheme. In May 2013, the National Council for Special Education published its Policy Advice on Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs in Schools. Both reports concluded that the SNA scheme has been highly successful in supporting the care needs of children with special needs in schools and with assisting to facilitate their integration and inclusion. However, the reports also concluded that the intended purpose of the scheme was not always generally well understood by parents or schools and that the scope and purpose of the scheme should be clarified for schools.

The Department of Education and Skills accordingly prepared a new Circular for schools, which was designed to clarify the scope and purpose of the SNA scheme, in accordance with the recommendations of the reports and policy advice noted above. The circular therefore should not be interpreted as a means to reduce the numbers of SNAs in schools. It is considered that this Circular will provide useful guidance and support for schools and parents in clarifying the purpose of the scheme and setting out the circumstances in which SNA support will normally be provided to assist children with special educational needs to access education.

Finally, I wish to advise the Deputy that all applications for July Provision will be processed in the order of date received. It is therefore in the best interest of parents to submit their completed application form as soon as possible. If parents of eligible children have questions on the scheme they may contact my Department on 090 6484296.