Gino Kenny (Dublin Mid West, People Before Profit Alliance)
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56. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to reconsider the recent cuts in learning support and resource allocation to a school (details supplied) which has meant that the school has effectively lost the services of a full-time teacher in this area; his views on he impact that this has had on the school, the staff and the pupils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [52008/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that DES Circular 0013/2017 for primary schools and 0014/2017 for post primary schools were published on 7th March 2017. 

These Circulars set out the details of the new model for allocating special education teachers to schools. 

The revised allocation process replaces the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning support and high incidence special educational needs, and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocation process which provided additional resource teaching supports to schools, to support pupils assessed as having Low Incidence disabilities. 

The new Special Education Teaching allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile.

Under the new allocation model, schools have been provided with a total allocation for special education needs support based on their school profile.  

The provision of a profiled allocation is designed to give a fairer allocation for each school which recognises that all schools need an allocation for special needs support, but which provides a graduated allocation which takes into account the actual level of need in each school.

I wish to advise the Deputy that the school referred to in his question received an allocation of 115.25 hours special education teaching support, based on its school profile and an enrolment of 343 pupils at the time that the school profile developed. This is a substantial allocation of hours for a school of this size. 

Whereas the profiled allocation had indicated a need of 102.50 hours for this school, based on its school profile and size, and relative to the profiled needs of all other schools, the school was allocated 115.25 hours, which was equivalent to the allocation the school received in 2016/17.

There has therefore been no reduction or cut to the allocation of special educational needs teaching support for this school and no cut to the allocation in this school.

Under the new allocation model, schools are frontloaded with resources, based on each school’s profile, to provide supports immediately to those pupils who need it without delay. This reduces the administrative burden on schools as schools no longer have to complete an application process annually and apply for newly enrolled pupils who require resource hours. Children who need support can have that support provided immediately rather than having to wait for a diagnosis.

Schools will therefore no longer have to make applications, for newly enrolled pupils for whom resource teaching hours may have been provided under the old model, or for pupils who have received a new diagnosis, as schools will now receive a single allocation for all of their special education teaching needs, based on their school size and profile.

It should be noted that this is a brand new model of allocation and is not comparable to the existing model. By using a broad range of attainment and socio-economic criteria, it is expected that generally, a school’s profile will remain relatively constant from year to year.  Each year, some students with additional teaching needs will leave and others will enrol, broadly balancing the school profile. Resources allocated under this model will not normally be adjusted between allocations.

Both my Department and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) are committed to ensuring all schools are treated equally and fairly in the manner in which their school profiles have been calculated.

Accordingly, a number of review processes have been put in place to support schools.

In March of this year, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) published details of an appeal process for schools.

Schools were advised that this appeal would consider circumstances where schools considered that their school profile was calculated incorrectly, using the data set out in DES Circulars 0013 and 0014 of 2017. An appeal could be submitted for a review of the information used and of the calculation of the allocation.

Schools who wished to submit an appeal on this basis were asked to do so by March 31st 2017. These appeals have been processed and this appeal process has now concluded.

A second process has been put in place to address circumstances where the school profile significantly changed following the allocation process e.g. a developing school where the net enrolment numbers significantly increased.

The criteria for qualification for mainstream school developing school posts are set out in DES Circular 17/2017 (Primary School Staffing Schedule) and DES 10,11,12/2017 (Post Primary School Staffing Schedule).

Schools who qualified of additional mainstream developing school posts in accordance with these criteria also qualified for additional Special Education Teaching Allocations to take account of this developing status.

Schools were also advised that it acknowledged that there are some circumstances, which may arise in schools, which fall outside the appeals process, or allocations for developing school status.

These relate to exceptional or emergency circumstances which could not have been anticipated e.g. where the school profile changes very significantly, or where other exceptional circumstances have arisen in a school and which may require a review of schools capacity to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who need it in the school, or of their utilisation of their allocations.

The NCSE has now published details of how schools can seek a review of their allocations, including the utilisation of their allocations, in circumstances where a school considers that very exceptional circumstances have arisen subsequent to the development of the profile.  

Should a school consider they fulfil the criteria for a review on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, they may request such a review at: