Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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221. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the reason behind the change to assessment of need applications as recently communicated to schools by the NCSE; her views that it is appropriate for school principals to make these referrals; the additional resources that will be provided to schools to compensate for these additional duties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54044/22]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Assessment of Need (AON) process is provided for under the Disability Act 2005. Assessment Officers under the remit of the HSE are charged with organising the Assessment of Need. The Assessment Officer makes the determination as to whether or not a child or young person meets the definition of disability contained in the Act and the HSE Assessment Officer co-ordinates and completes the Assessment Report.

Following on from a court ruling in October 2021 there is now a legal obligation on the education system to assistthe HSE as part of the HSE’s Assessment of Need Process (AON).

The Department of Education and NCSE have worked intensively to ensure the process put in place adheres to legal obligations arising from the HSE’s AON process and is one that is rooted in existing good practice in schools. Under the Disability Act (2005) the NCSE is obliged to nominate a personwith appropriate expertise to assist in the education assessment process.

Where the child is enrolled in a school the Education of Persons with Special Education Needs Act (EPSEN) 2004 names the principal as the person the NCSE should contact.

Assessment in education is an evaluation of a child’s educationneed.

Identification of education needs is central to the way schools operate. Schools provide for the inclusion and participation of all students and provide an education which is appropriate to a student’s abilities and needs.

In that regard, it is important to note that schools routinely identify students’ needs. This is embedded in school practice. This aligns with the obligations on schools arising from the Education Act 1998. They use a range of assessment practices as part of the Continuum of Supportprocess. The Continuum of Support framework enables the school to identify, address and review progress in meeting the academic, social and emotional needs of the pupil, as well as physical, sensory, language and communication needs.

Schools have been provided with a range of resources to ensure that the education needs of all students, including those with a disability or other special education needs, are identified and supported. The Department of Education issued Guidelines for Primary and Post Primary schools (2017) as to how they should identify and provide for the special education and learning needs of students.

Information derived from the schools’ assessments in education are recorded in a ‘Student Support File’. In line with best educational practice, the Student Support file details a student’s education needs as identified by the school. The information contained in the Student Support File is used in completing the educational component of the AON form which is returned to the HSE via the NCSE.

The Department of Education and the NCSE are conscious of the workload on schools and on school leaders and, in that regard, an extensive consultation process on the educational component of the AON was undertaken prior to its introduction. This process involved schools, advocacy groups, management bodies and unions. The Department of Education and the NCSE worked with a small number of schools on a draft of the documents required as part of the HSE’s AON process. The schools provided valuable feedback on the form and guidance documents which was used to inform the documents which have been issued to schools.

The Department of Education and the NCSE have put in place a suite of supports to assist schools in completing the educational component of the HSE’s AON process. These include:

- Detailed guidance,

- Short video for use by schools setting how to comply with the process;

- Email support,

- Dedicated support line – this line is staffed by education professionals who will assist schools in completing the process.

I think it is important to note that this remains a HSE process. The information retained in schools on a student’s education needs, are transferred into a Report Formthat will be returned to the HSE to feed into the overall AON process. The education system is assisting the HSE on the educational component only, as part of the HSE’s Assessment of Need Process (AON).

Ensuring that students with the greatest level of need receive the greatest level of support, is a top priority.

My Department is satisfied that the educational component of the AON process is child centred, in line with educational good practice and ensures that schools, who hold all of the relevant information on the child, are supported in providing this detail to the HSE.