Seán Ó Fearghaíl (Kildare South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

190. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide details on the National Council for Special Education guidelines for allocating special needs assistants to students transitioning from primary to post-primary school; if it is the case that, even where a student has a manifest behavioural special need, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or autism spectrum disorder, such students have to undergo a period of within-school assessment prior to being eligible for a special needs assistant; if, due to the delays in the allocation of assistants to these students in their first year of post-primary school, this system of allocation is congruent with the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22715/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

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.

The Circular explains that transition to Post Primary school should be recognised as a critical time for a student with special educational needs. The Circular sets out that a key goal of SNA support is to help children to develop their independent living skills, and that continued and ongoing access to SNA support is generally not desirable for post-primary students, unless essential, as it can impede their independence and socialisation needs at an important developmental stage of their life.

Accordingly, whereas SNA support will be provided to post primary schools when required, only pupils with chronic and serious care needs will normally be allocated SNA support in post primary schools. In considering applications for SNA support from post primary schools the NCSE will take into account the importance of the requirement to allocate necessary care supports with the right of a child to acquire personal independence skills.

All schools have been asked to apply to the NCSE for SNA support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March, 2015.

The NCSE will consider all applications for SNA support which have been made by schools and all schools will be advised of their revised SNA allocations for the 2015/16 school year, prior to the end of the current school year.

Schools who wish to appeal the level of SNA allocation made to them may do so via the appeals process which is set out 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.