Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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650. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will immediately make available the SNA allocations for secondary schools in Cork south west for the 2022-2023 academic year. [12768/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the deputy for raising these matters and would like to advise the following:

Enabling children with special educational needs (SEN) to receive an education appropriate to their needs is a priority for this Government.

It is also a key priority for me as Minister for Special Education & Inclusion, for my Department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

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 NCSE have published the SNA allocations for the 2022/23 school year and they are available at ncse.ie/set-hours-and-sna-allocations.

A 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.

The Exceptional Review process for mainstream allocations will be available to schools throughout the 2022/23 school year.

The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) allocations for the 2023/2024 school year are presently being developed by my Department and will be advised to schools as soon as possible and in line with previous year timelines.

My Department has allocated 1,165 additional SNA’s to schools in the past year and in Budget 2023 an additional 1,194 SNA’s are being provided to support schools and will be allocated as follows: 735 to support students in new special classes, 124 to support students in new special school places and 335 to support students in mainstream classes.

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.

Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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651. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure a student (details supplied) who requires a laptop as assistive technology is provided with this essential equipment. [12770/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides funding to schools towards the cost of computers and specialist equipment, which are required for educational purposes under the Assistive Technology scheme, as set out in my Department’s Circular 0010/2013.

All equipment provided under this scheme supports children with more complex disabilities who, in order to access the school curriculum, require essential specialist equipment.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. SENOs also make recommendations to my Department where assistive technology/specialised equipment is required. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in making recommendations for support.

In order to qualify for equipment under the assistive technology scheme, a student must have been diagnosed with a physical or communicative disability and must also have a recommendation in a professional assessment that the equipment is essential in order to allow the student to access the curriculum.

It must also be clear that the existing I.T. equipment in the school is insufficient to meet the child's needs. Where necessary, schools may also purchase new or additional equipment or software for students from normal school resources or funds.

Schools make applications directly to the SENO, providing details of the student’s special educational needs or disability, including details of the approach taken by the school in making relevant interventions.

Supporting documentation must be submitted to the NCSE by the school when making the application for assistive technology. This should include a recent comprehensive and professional assessment of the nature and extent of disability, and details of the equipment most appropriate for the needs of the pupil. The recommendation of the NCSE will be based upon accompanying professional reports from relevant professionals, such as Educational Psychologists, Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists etc.

SENOs will review the application, and professional reports provided in support of same, in order to establish whether the criteria of the scheme have been met. They will then make a recommendation to my Department as to whether or not assistive technology is required; and based on this recommendation, my Department will decide on the level of grant, if any, to be provided.

The type of equipment provided under the assistive technology scheme is varied, and includes audio logical supports for students with hearing impairment, braille equipment for children with visual impairment, and computer equipment with associated modified software for students with physical or severe communicative disabilities.

I regret to inform you that, based on the professional information provided to the SENO when the application was first received in December 2022, and in line with criteria set out in Circular 10/2013, they were not in a position to recommend an assistive technology grant for the school concerned on behalf of this student as the specialist hardware and/or software was not clearly specified in the report provided. The school has been advised of the position.