Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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243. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools in Cork city with an ASD unit; if a list of the schools will be provided; the number of children on a waiting list for those schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2744/22]

Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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244. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools in County Cork with an ASD unit; if a list of the schools will be provided; the number of children on a waiting list for those schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2745/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 243 and 244 together.

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.  

This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs. 

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children nationwide.

It is open to any school to make an application to the NCSE for the establishment of a specialised provision and where sanctioned, a range of supports, including capital funding, is made available to the school. 

There are currently a network of 357 special classes in Cork of which 309 are special classes for children with autism.Of the 309 special classes for children with autism, 228 are at primary level including 21 Early Intervention classes and 81 are at post primary level. A total of 45 new ASD special classes were established for the 2021/2022 school year.

The NCSE through their network of SENOs (Special Educational Needs Organisers) continue to engage in a process of establishing new classes for the 2022/2023 school year and beyond by looking at local information in relation to current and projected demand for special education places. The NCSE have specific plans in place to open additional ASD special classes in the 2022/23 school year.  

Parents seeking special class placements for their children are advised to contact NCSE locally so that their needs can be taken into account for planning purposes.

I should also clarify that the NCSE does not maintain waiting lists for schools.  Boards of management of individual schools are responsible for such enrolment matters.

The local SENOs remain available to assist and advise parents of children with special educational needs. Parents may contact SENOs directly using the contact details available at: ncse.ie/regional-servic. 

Information on the list of schools with special classes, the type and location of these classes is published on the NCSE website and is available at www.ncse.ie.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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245. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the front-loading system for SNAs will be introduced in September 2022; if so, when principals will be informed; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2746/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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In light of the disruption caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the introduction of the new Frontloaded Allocation Model for SNAs for students in mainstream classes in primary and post -primary schools was  deferred for a further year to the beginning of the 2022/23 school year. 

In order to minimise disruption for schools, in the current circumstances, and to provide for continuity of allocations, the following arrangements for the allocation of Special Needs Assistants for mainstream classes for the 2021/22 school year were announced: 

- Existing mainstream class SNA allocations in schools on 30 April 2021 were maintained and automatically rolled over into the 2021/22 school year.

- No school received an allocation less than that which they had on 30 April 2021.

- SNAs currently in mainstream settings can continue in post for the 2021/22 school year in the normal way.

- Priority consideration was given by the NCSE to applications for increased support for the  2021/22 school year. In particular, applications from schools with no SNAs and developing schools were prioritised with determinations made before 30 June. Other applications were processed in order of date received.

- As in previous years, where circumstances change during the course of the 2021/22 school year that materially increase the level of care need in a school to the extent that the school can clearly demonstrate that it cannot be met within the existing SNA allocation, the school may apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website ncse.ie/for-schools

The NCSE published SNA allocations on their website www.ncse.ie.

SNA allocations for special classes and special schools are not affected by this arrangement.

Circular 0029/2021 advised schools of the arrangements for the allocation of SNAs for the 2021/22 school year.

Provisions set out in Circular 0030/2020 were extended for the 2021/22 school year.

Circular 0029/2021 and Circular 0030/2020 are available on the Departments website.

Claire Kerrane (Roscommon-Galway, Sinn Fein)
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246. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are changes planned to the allocation of special education teachers for primary schools; if so, when details of this will be made known to school principals to allow them to plan for new enrolments and engagement with parents on such enrolments; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2747/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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A new model for allocating Special Education Teachers to mainstream schools was introduced from September 2017, based on the profiled needs of schools.

The allocations were updated for schools with effect from September 2019, with limited readjustments being applied for at that time.

The allocations have remained in place for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 school years, with some adjustments made over the course of the model for schools which achieved developing status, or successfully appealed on the grounds of exceptional circumstances arising in their schools. Allocations are also provided for new schools which open each year.

DES Circulars 007 and 008 2019, stated that the allocations being made for 2019 would initially remain in place for a minimum of two years, following which, revised profiled allocations would be considered for schools from September 2021.

The NCSE Policy advice ‘A Proposed new Model for Allocating Teaching Resources for Students with Special Educational Needs (2014)’ on which the SET allocation model is based, recommended that ‘the additional teaching supports be left in place initially for a two-year period. As the new model becomes embedded in the system, this may be extended to three years.’

In order to minimise disruption for schools, in the current circumstances, and to provide for continuity of allocations, the Minister for Education and the Minister for Special Education and Inclusion have agreed to maintain the existing Special Education Teacher Allocations for schools for the 2021/22 school year, with re profiled allocations now due to be made from September 2022.

Additional allocations continue to be made for new schools, schools which achieve developing status, or for exceptional circumstances arising in schools, in the interim.

The criteria for qualification for mainstream school developing school posts are set out in the Primary and Post Primary School Staffing Schedule for the 2021/22 school year.

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

There are now over 13,600 Special Education Teachers allocated to mainstream primary and post primary schools.

This represents an increase of 40% in the total number of special education teachers allocated to schools since 2011, at which time 9740 teachers were allocated.

Maintaining the existing allocations of Special Education Teachers for the 2021/22 school year meant that schools did not have to engage in an extensive redeployment of posts, or re-clustering, this year.

It also provided schools with greater levels of certainty as to the staff that they would have in place for September.

No school saw a cut, or reduction, to their special education teaching support this year.

In circumstances where some schools saw a greater level of increase year on year, if full re profiling had occurred, the increased allocations for developing status combined with the existing allocation of the school saw an increased overall teacher allocation for these schools in 2021/22.

The allocations for 2021/22 which were maintained comprise the allocations made for schools from September 2019 plus any additionality achieved since plus any developing hours for the 2019/20 and 2020/21 school years.

It is also acknowledged that there are some circumstances, which may arise in schools, which fall outside the 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.

A process is available where schools can seek a review of their allocations by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), 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.  

If a school wishes to make an exceptional needs review, they may do so at the following link: ncse.ie/for-schools