Kathleen Funchion (Carlow-Kilkenny, Sinn Fein)
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174. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a child with epilepsy is being denied an SNA from September 2018. [5328/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which is an independent statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating a quantum of Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support for each school annually taking into account the assessed care needs of children qualifying for SNA support enrolled in the school. 

The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support, which is set out in Circular 0030/2014.

In considering applications for SNA support for individual students, the SENOs take account of the students' needs and consider the resources available to the school to identify whether additionality is needed or whether the school might reasonably be expected to meet the needs of the students from its current level of resources.

Circular 0030/2014 clarifies that SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource and that SNA allocations to schools may change from year to year, for example where care needs have diminished as a child gets older or where a child may have left a school. 

The Circular also clarifies that schools should put in place a plan to meet the care needs of the student, which should be encompassed in the school plan to meet the special educational needs of the student concerned.

Schools who wish to make applications for SNA support for the 2018/19 school year should apply to the NCSE. The deadline for receipt of SNA applications is 28 February 2018. Information relating to the SNA Application process is available at .

The NCSE aim to publish details of the SNA allocations to schools for September 2018, on its website in May. 2018. No decision regarding SNA allocations to schools for September 2018 will be notified to schools before this.

It is important to note that children who require SNA support will continue to avail of such support. 

The NCSE Appeals Process may be invoked in the following instances:

- a parent or a school where it is considered that a child was not granted access to SNA support on the grounds  that Department policy was not met in accordance with Circular 0030/2014.

- a school may also appeal a decision, where the school considers that the NCSE, in applying Department policy, has not allocated the appropriate level of SNA supports to the school to meet the special educational and/or care needs of the child(ren) concerned.

All schools have the contact details of their local SENO and parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available at .