Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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231. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department and the NCSE will accept a private diagnosis to enable children join a waiting list for a place in a special school with regard to children that are on public waiting lists for an assessment of need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11674/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools which have enrolled pupils with special educational needs in order to ensure that, wherever a child is enrolled, they will have access to an appropriate education.

Children with special educational needs may be enrolled in a mainstream school and attend all mainstream classes and receive additional teaching support through the learning support and/or resource teacher.

Some students with more complex needs may be supported in a special class in a mainstream school where they have the option, where appropriate, of full or part time inclusion and interaction with other children.

Special schools support students with more severe and/or complex special educational needs in cases where a full time mainstream placement would not be in the student’s best interest. These students may find the demands of mainstream schools very difficult, or may have complex learning or other difficulties which require smaller class sizes. In order to be placed in a special school, a child must have a formal assessment of disability/professional report stating that s/he has a special educational need, which requires placement in a special school setting. The type of professional assessment will depend on the category of special educational need of the child involved.

The enrolment of a child to a school, however, is a matter in the first instance for the parents of the child and the Board of Management of a school. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools. Where a parent seeks to enrol their child in a school and that school refuses to enrol a pupil, the school is obliged to inform parents of their right under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 to appeal that decision to the Secretary General of my Department. Only where an appeal under Section 29 is upheld, may the Secretary General of my Department direct a school to enrol a pupil.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support.

SENOs are also a valuable source of support to parents who are actively sourcing a placement for their children. SENO contact details are available on www.ncse.ie. The NCSE has published a Guide for Parents and Guardians of Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs on Choosing a School, which is also available on their website.

The NCSE works in collaboration with the Educational Welfare Services of the Child and Family Agency which is the statutory agency that can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child or can offer assistance where a child is out of school. The EWS may be able to offer assistance and advice on securing a school placement within a pupil's area. The contact details for the EWS is Educational Welfare Services, Child and Family Agency, Floors 2-5, Brunel Building, Heuston South Quarter, Dublin 8. Telephone 01 7718500 email: .