Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Independent)
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192. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason applications to the National Council for Special Needs Education for resource teaching hours on behalf of students with special education needs, that miss the March 2015 deadline because schools are waiting for the relevant documentation from health care professionals, cannot be processed until October 2015; her views that in such circumstances, it is unacceptable that students with special education needs and their teachers should have to forego the resource teaching hours to which they are entitled for almost 25% of the school year, as a direct result of administrative inflexibility; her views that it should at least be possible to have such late applications processed, and the applicable resource teaching hours allocated in time for the students' return from the summer break; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18033/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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The Deputy will be aware that in recent years the National Council for Special Needs Education (NCSE) Resource Teaching allocation process has operated as an annual allocation process, whereby schools are asked to submit all of their resource teaching applications to the NCSE by March of each year, and then receive details of their resource teaching allocations for the coming school year before the end of the current school year.

This provides certainty to schools regarding the resources which they will have in place for the coming school year and allows schools to undertake the necessary planning and development work.

Where schools have been unable to submit some of their applications in time to meet the March application process deadline, the NCSE provides for a second round application process in October of each year. After this point the allocation process for the school year will have been effectively been completed, other than in respect of a small number of exceptional or emergency cases.

Where schools may be awaiting a response in respect of an applications pending for the second round application process they should provide additional teaching support for any child requiring such support from the totality of their resource teaching and learning support allocation, pending the completion of any application.

The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has recommended the development of a new model for delivering teaching resources to schools to support students with special needs.

Through consultations, there was a broad welcome for the proposed new model from Parents, disability groups, schools and stakeholders. However, there has not been sufficient time to address all of the concerns which have been raised in advance of the 2015 school year.

My Department is, however, continuing to develop the new allocation model for schools and is currently working to devise a pilot of the new model. Issues regarding any adjustments to the existing allocation process will therefore be considered in the context of the development of a new allocation model.