Bobby Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

216. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the protocol for allocation of resource teaching hours in respect of students with learning disabilities who have shown general improvements in day to day learning and end of term examinations; if a student with a learning disability achieves high scores in their end of term examinations, whether resource teaching hours are likely to be reduced in advance of the following term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36145/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of locally based Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for the allocation of Special Educational needs supports to schools, including Low Incidence Teaching Hours (LITH) support for students with special educational needs (SEN) arising from a disability.  The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

Separately all mainstream schools have a permanent allocation of additional teaching resources to provide for children who have learning support needs or whose educational psychological assessment places them in the high incidence, or less complex, disability category.  It is a matter for individual schools to use their professional judgement 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.

My Department provides guidelines for schools in relation to the utilisation of additional teaching resources which have been allocated to them. These include Circulars SpEd 02/05 and 70/2014 on the Inclusion of Pupils with Special Educational Needs, and the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) Continuum of Support Guidelines.

Schools may differentiate the level of learning support granted to ensure that available resources are used to support children in line with their needs and that support is provided to those pupils that need it most.

The NCSE does not make any reduction in the resource hours allocations it makes to schools, to support pupils who have low incidence disabilities, in circumstances where pupils have improved academic performances.

Where schools have distributed additional teaching support to pupils, from within their general allocations of hours, or from the totality of their resource allocations, schools allocate hours taking into account each child's ongoing individual learning support needs, in accordance with the Continuum of Support Guidelines.

My Department encourages parents and school authorities to engage locally regarding pupils' education.  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.

Michael Fitzmaurice (Roscommon-Galway, Independent)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

217. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the level of special needs assistant support allocated to a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36152/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports, including SNA support.

The NCSE allocates SNA support to schools in accordance with the criteria set out in my Department's Circular 0030/2014, which is available on my Department's website at www.education.ie, in order that students who have care needs can access SNA support as and when it is needed.

Responsibility for deciding on the quantum of educational supports and resources to be allocated to schools to support individual pupils rests with the NCSE.

It should be noted that SNA allocations are not made to individual children, but are made to schools to support the care needs of children with assessed special educational needs in the school.

Once an allocation of SNA support has been made to a school, it is a matter for the school to utilise and deploy that support within the school in order to provide for the care needs of qualifying pupils within the school.

Where a school or parent wishes to appeal the level of SNA support allocation which has been made to them, they may do so through the NCSE appeal process, details of which are set out at www.ncse.ie.

All schools have the contact details of their local SENO. Contact details are also available on the NCSE website. The local SENO is also available to discuss any concerns that parents have about the present or future educational needs of their child.

Timmy Dooley (Clare, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

218. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the proposals for additional autistic spectrum disorder units, as opposed to units already in operation, attached to mainstream secondary schools in the greater Dublin area; the location of each; the projected opening dates; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [36163/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

This Government is committed to ensuring that all children with Special Educational Needs, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.

Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.

Almost 14,000 students in schools have been diagnosed with autism. The Department of Education and Skills invests over €300m annually in providing additional resources specifically to support students with autism in schools enabling:

- 63% of students to attend mainstream schools

- 23% to attend special classes in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, and

- 14% to attend special schools.

The NCSE, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), in consultation with the relevant education partners, is responsible for the establishment of special classes in various geographical areas as required. Special classes are part of a continuum of educational provision that enables students with more complex special educational needs to be educated, in smaller class groups, within their local mainstream schools. They offer a supportive learning environment to students with ASD who are unable to access the curriculum in a mainstream class, even with support, for most or all of their school day. Special class for students with ASD are staffed with a lower pupil–teacher ratio of 6:1 at primary level and 6:1.5 at post primary level, and also have Special Needs Assistant support normally amounting to 2 Ss for a class of 6 children.

Students enrolled in special classes should be included in mainstream classes to the greatest extent possible, in line with their abilities.

Progress in developing this network has been significant and in addition to the special school placements there are 1,153 special classes available, which is an increase of over 100% in the number of special classes which were available in 2011, which was 548.

This includes 127 ASD early intervention classes, 525 primary ASD classes and 237 post-primary ASD classes, which represents an increase of approximately. 16% on 2015/16 classes for children with autism.

There are 158 ASD classes attached to mainstream schools in Dublin, including 22 Early Intervention ASD Classes, 106 primary ASD classes and 30 post primary ASD. 17 of these are newly opened classes, including 3 Early Intervention ASD Classes, 9 primary ASD classes and 5 post primary ASD classes. The NCSE continues to review the special class placement requirements in Dublin and is currently engaging with schools with regard to opening new special classes in Dublin in areas where there is an identified need for special class provision.

The Education (Admission to Schools) Bill was published on 6 July 2016. The Admissions Bill provides that where a school has places available it must admit all applicants. The Bill contains a provision for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to designate a school for a child who has no school place for reasons related to the child’s special educational needs and for the Child and Family Agency to designate a school for a child who has no school place (other than a child with special educational needs).

Furthermore, it is general practice to include a Special Needs Unit in the accommodation brief for new school buildings, unless local circumstances indicate that it will not be required.  In addition, the Department may also provide capital funding to schools to establish special needs provision e.g. reconfigure existing accommodation to provide a special class where this has been approved by the National Council for Special Education through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers.

The NCSE recently launched guidelines for Boards of Management and Principals of Primary and Post Primary schools which provide information on setting up and organising special classes. These guidelines are available to download from www.ncse.ie.