Michael Healy-Rae (Kerry, Independent)
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75. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of an appeal by a school (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10473/18]

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. 

Allocations based on the school profiles were issued to all schools on 7th March.  

The aim of this new model is to deliver better outcomes for children with special educational needs. Substantial research, analysis, consultation with service users and stakeholders, and piloting have gone in to the development of this model and all of the evidence points to the fact that this new system will deliver better outcomes for children.  

No school, has lost supports as a result of the implementation of the new model. In addition, no school received an allocation, for the support of pupils with complex needs, less than the allocation they received to support such pupils during the 2016/17 school year.  

An additional 900 teaching posts have been provided to support the introduction of this new allocation model. The provision of an additional 900 teaching posts is a very significant investment in the provision of additional teaching support for pupils with special educational needs in our schools.  

The additional funding provided additional supports to over 1300 schools who identified as needing additional supports as a result of the new model while ensuring that no school received a reduced allocation.

The new funding will ensure that all schools receive a sufficient allocation of special education needs resources to provide additional teaching support to all pupils, including pupils who have yet to enrol in their school, who require such support.  

In relation to the school referred to by the Deputy, the profiling model had indicated a profiled special educational need for this school of 45 teaching hours. 

However, as no school received an allocation, on the introduction of the new model, which was less than the allocation they received in the previous school year, the school maintained an allocation of 46.03 hours and it was indicated that within this allocation there was a retained element of 1.03 hrs.  

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.  

Included within this is an allocation for:

- A school educational profile component; which includes:

- An allocation for pupils with complex needs

- The learning support needs in schools as evidenced by attainment levels in standardised test results

-The social context of the school including disadvantage and gender 

- Baseline component provided to every mainstream school to support inclusion, prevention of learning difficulties and early intervention.

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.

It is acknowledged and accepted that schools will have some additional pupils with special educational needs enrolling to their school subsequent to the profiles having been developed.

However, for the most part these will be balanced by the fact that some students who had additional teaching needs in the previous year will have left the school. The baseline is also designed to ensure that schools have some capacity to provide additional support to pupils.

Where a school profile significantly changes following the allocation process e.g. a developing school where the net enrolment numbers significantly increase year on year additional allocations may be made. 

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 for 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.

It is also acknowledged that there will be some schools where exceptional circumstances may arise. 

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) will be available to support schools where schools have developed and implemented appropriate plans for the deployment of their special education needs teaching resources, but the school considers that further support may be required. This support may involve Continuing Professional Development or further training for school staff, advice in relation to the support plans that are in place, and possibly a review process once schools can clearly demonstrate that exceptional circumstances have arisen in the school. 

The NCSE has also 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 schools consider that they fulfil the criteria for a review on the grounds of exceptional circumstances, details of this review process are available at:

.

The NCSE has advised that the school referred to by the Deputy has made an application to the NCSE for a review on this basis. The NCSE considered this application and has advised that following a review of the application submitted by the school, the NCSE has concluded that the school does not fulfil the criteria for review, in accordance with the qualification criteria set out for the scheme.

The reason advised for this is that requests for reviews based on comparisons between allocations under the new allocation model, and the previous allocation model, or consideration of the allocations that may have applied to schools had the previous allocation model stayed in place, if certain factors such as new assessments arising subsequent to the new allocations being made to schools were considered, do not qualify as a basis for review under this process.

A review on the grounds of exceptional circumstances arising should only be conducted where the school profile changes very significantly, beyond which the school profile is provided to cater for, or where very exceptional circumstances have arisen in a school beyond a schools capacity to provide additional teaching support once their allocations are utilised effectively.

The NCSE has advised, however, that they will be in a position to provide additional guidance or support for this school and to discuss any issues which the school may have in managing their available resources, and to assist the school in managing the utilisation of their allocation to support all children who need additional teaching support in the school, should the school wish to avail of such support.