Niamh Smyth (Cavan-Monaghan, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

188. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will review the case of a person (details supplied); if this person is entitled to one to one support; if he will provide clarity on an issue regarding this case; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [8293/17]

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

The Special Needs Assistant (S) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs.  Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.  S support is allocated to schools to support pupils based on their assessed care needs, as opposed to being allocated on the basis of a particular disability diagnosis.

SNA allocations are accordingly 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.

The consideration of professional reports is an integral part of determining the extent of supports to be provided for pupils with special educational needs.  In making allocations to schools, the NCSE takes into account the assessed individual needs of all children with identified needs in the school.

A school's allocation of S support can change from year to year and may be increased or decreased as students who qualify for S support enrol or leave a school. New students with care needs may, or may not, enrol to replace students who have left, for example, or S allocations may be decreased where a child's care needs have diminished over time.

The deployment of Ss within schools is then a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management. Department Circular 0030/2014 provides substantial guidance on the deployment and utilisation of Ss within schools. Ss 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 S 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 S support is utilised. 

Where a school wishes to appeal the S 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.

The option to invoke the NCSE appeals process is open to the school/parent in question, but to date no appeal has been received by the NCSE.

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 the NCSE website.

As the question to which the Deputy refers relates to an individual child, the matter has been referred to the NCSE for direct reply.