John Halligan (Waterford, Independent)
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213. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will confirm where a child currently in primary school who has been assessed with a diagnosis of severe ADHD and is in receipt of an special needs assistant is progressing to secondary level, if a reassessment of the SNA requirements is necessary or will the provision of an SNA be automatic upon entry to second level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [41479/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, 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 enrolled in the school. 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, which is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie.

I wish to explain that there is no automatic system of transfer of resources from one school to another. In considering applications for SNA supports for individual pupils, the SENOs take account of the pupils' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionally is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the pupils from its current level of resources.

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.

Schools who wish to apply for SNA support for pupils who are newly enrolling to a school should make such an application to the NCSE.

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.