Written answers

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Department of Education and Skills

Special Educational Needs Staffing

Photo of Michael Healy-RaeMichael Healy-Rae (Kerry South, Independent)
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263. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding a full-time special needs assistant in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Kerry; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29529/14]

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support. Where children have significant care needs whereby they may need additional support to be able to attend school, the NCSE may make an allocation of SNA support to the school to assist that child.

The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. The criteria by which SNA support is allocated to pupils is set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014.

The deployment of SNAs within schools is then a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated. It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

The NCSE have announced that in September there will be over 10,900 Special Needs Assistant (SNA) posts in schools to support students with special needs for the 2014/2015 school year. The exact numbers of SNAs will become clear when enrolments of students in mainstream schools are finalised in September.

A school by school breakdown of SNA allocations for 2014/15 school year is available at www.ncse.ie.

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.

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