Carol Nolan (Laois-Offaly, Independent)
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439. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will address serious safety concerns that have been brought to the attention of her Department by a school (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8854/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

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

For 2023, the spend by my Department on special education will be substantially increased by over 10% on last year, meaning that for 2023 my Department will spend over €2.6 billion on special education.

This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department’s total allocation for 2023.

This includes additional teaching and care supports. It also includes funding for the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) for an additional 54 psychologists to provide services to special schools and special classes.

In 2023 the number of teaching and SNA posts in our schools will increase with an additional 686 teachers and a further 1,194 special needs assistants in our schools next year.

For the first time ever we will have over 19,000 teachers working in the area of special education and over 20,000 Special needs assistants. Together we have almost 40,000 qualified and committed people in our schools who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting children with special educational needs.

The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.

The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.

SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management of the school. SNAs should be deployed by the school in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled in the school for whom SNA support has been allocated.

It is a matter for schools to allocate support as required, and on the basis of individual need, which allows schools flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

The school can apply to the NCSE for a review of its SNA allocation if it is insufficient to meet the needs of its students. Detailed information on the NCSE Exceptional Review process is published on the NCSE website. ncse.ie/application-for-sna-exceptional-review.

In relation to the school in question the NCSE have confirmed to my Department that an application for an SNA Exceptional review was received for the school referred to by the Deputy on 22nd November 2022, and a review was undertaken by 2 SENOs on 11th January 2023.

The application did not meet the criteria for a change in the SNA allocation to the Special Class.

The NCSE state that the current allocation of 3 SNA posts in the special class was deemed appropriate as meeting the Primary Care Needs of all pupils in the class.

Following the outcome of a review, the NCSE can make the local SENO available to the school to discuss their current deployment of SNA supports in the school and to put these supports to the best advantage of the students. NCSE in-school support is also available to schools to offer further guidance and support.

The NCSE has an appeal mechanism for schools who are not satisfied with the outcome of the Exceptional Review. The NCSE confirmed that appeal documents were received from the school on 13th February, and these documents were forwarded to the appeals officer. The appeals officer will inform the school of the outcome of the appeal and will provide an explanation of the determination in due course.

All schools have the contact details of their local SENO, and the SENO is available to offer assistance and advice to the school. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations and the school should liaise with the NCSE directly in the event that additional supports are required.