Gary Gannon (Dublin Central, Social Democrats)
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71. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to outline the work of her Department in terms of increasing the provision of classroom assistants for primary schools. [30522/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the deputy for the question.

In some jurisdictions, classroom assistants are the main provider of support to children and young people with educational needs, classroom assistants are not a feature of the education system in Ireland.

Research findings indicate that educational outcomes for many of those who receive considerable support from classroom assistants are poorer than those who receive support predominantly from class teachers.

In Ireland, Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional care needs in our education system ensuring that these students can access education.

There are more than 21,000 SNAs allocated to schools for the start of the 2024/25 school year, more than double the figure of 10,320 in 2011. This government - and I as Minister of State with responsibility for Special Education and Inclusion - are committed to supporting children and young people with care needs to attend and participate in school.

In Budget 2024 additional funding was allocated for a further 1,216 SNA posts in mainstream schools, special classes and special schools. This built on the 2,359 additional SNA posts funded in Budgets 2022 and 2023.

SNAs are allocated to schools as a school-based resource and not to individual children. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the principal and/or board of management and SNAs should be deployed in a manner which optimises care support to those children for whom support who require it.

All mainstream schools have been advised of their initial SNA allocations for the 2024/25 school years. The NCSE is responsible for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including allocation of SNAs and reviews of same.

A school that has concerns should contact their local NCSE SENO to discuss their concerns. My department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.

The NCSE manages the SNA exceptional review process and handles each case individually.

My department has been working with the NCSE to streamline the review process for SNAs and the NCSE will be issuing revised guidelines on SNA review to schools for the 2024/25 school year. This seeks to reduce the administrative burden on schools, ensure timely reviews and develop strong relationships between schools and SENOs. All of this is with the objective of delivering the best support to children with significant care needs in our schools.