Fergus O'Dowd (Louth, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

541. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a pupil (details supplied) in County Louth will be re-assessed for provision of special needs assistant or resource hours; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [45232/15]

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

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs.

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, while the criteria for the allocation of resource teaching support is set out in DES Circular 02/05.

All schools were asked to apply for SNA or resource teaching support for the 2015/16 school year by 18th March 2015. The NCSE also continued to accept applications after this date in recognition that enrolments may not have been completed or where assessments were not completed. The NCSE has published details of SNA allocations for schools for the current school year on its website.

All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, while 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.

It should be noted that all mainstream Primary schools have been allocated significant additional teaching resources under the General Allocation Model (GAM) to cater for children with high incidence special educational needs, including pupils with a Mild Learning Disability.

It is a matter for individual schools to use their professional judgment to identify pupils who will receive this support and to use the resources available to the school to intervene at the appropriate level with such pupils. Schools are supported in this regard by the National Educational Psychological Services. Schools are not required to apply directly to my Department for such learning support.

Schools should monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with my Department's guidance. The teaching time afforded to each individual pupil is decided and managed by schools, taking into account each child's individual learning needs. My Departments Circular SP ED 02/05 provides guidelines for primary schools in relation to the utilisation of additional teaching resources which have been allocated to them for pupils with special educational needs.

As the allocation of support for pupils is managed locally by schools, a parent who feels that their child requires additional learning support in school should raise this matter directly with their school Principal in the first instance, or with the Board of Management of the school.

Where a parent or school wishes to appeal a decision in relation to the allocation of SNA or resource teaching support for a child, details of the manner in which they may appeal such a decision in relation to support for a child in school, to the NCSE, is set out at www.ncse.ie.