Written answers

Thursday, 23 October 2014

Department of Education and Skills

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Photo of Terence FlanaganTerence Flanagan (Dublin North East, Independent)
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164. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if changes are proposed to educational support for children with special needs (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40770/14]

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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My Department is currently considering potential revisions to the system of allocating Resource Teaching and Learning Support to schools. This is on foot of recommendations set out in the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) Policy Advice on "Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools (May 2013) and the recommendations of the NCSE Working Group Report "A Proposed New Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for Students with Special Educational Needs". Following the publication of these reports, my Department advised that it would commence the process of gathering information which would be required to develop the proposed new model, to allow its impact to be assessed, and to assess if, and from when, the model could be implemented.

Part of this process involves the collection of information in relation to the social context of schools. The Department therefore, in conjunction with the NCSE, asked the Educational Research Centre (ERC) to conduct a social context schools survey to assist the development of an educational profile of schools, which is currently underway.

At all stages, there has been comprehensive consultation with education partners and stakeholders and through this consultation there was awareness and broad support for the proposed approach including the deployment of a survey.

With regard to SNAs, my Departments Circular 0030/2014 on the SNA scheme, sets out the role which professional reports play in supporting the SNA scheme. While professional reports play a valuable role in identifying the needs of a child, responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational supports to be provided to schools rests with the National Council for Special Education, in accordance with my Department's policy.

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.

It should be noted that as part of the budget announcements which were made on 14th October, 365 new Special Needs Assistant posts will be provided to support children with special educational needs in schools in 2015. The increase of 365 posts proposed for next year is also additional to the increase of 390 posts which this Government announced in December 2013, which had raised the previous cap from 10,575 available posts to 10,965 posts.

There has therefore not been a reduction in the level of SNA support available to be allocated to schools.

The increases which have already been provided, and which are being proposed for next year, will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs.

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