Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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669.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will ensure an additional SNA is allocated to a school (details supplied). [31796/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this government. It is also a key priority for my department and for the National Council for Special Education (NCSE).

The vast majority of children with special educational needs are supported to attend mainstream classes with their peers. Where children with more complex needs require additional supports, special classes and special school places are provided.

The support special needs assistants (SNAs) provide plays a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs into mainstream education, special classes and special schools ensuring that these students can access education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocate SNAs to schools as a school based resource and not to individual children, the deployment of SNAs within schools is then managed by the individual principal/board of management. This is done with the understanding that SNAs should be deployed in a manner which best meets the care support requirements of the children enrolled for whom SNA support has been allocated. This method allows schools greater flexibility in how the SNA support is utilised.

Any school who feels that their allocation is insufficient to meet the needs of its students can apply to the NCSE for a review. Detailed information on the NCSE exceptional review process is published on the NCSE website.

As the NCSE have the responsibility for allocating SNAs to schools, I will arrange to have your query referred to the NCSE for their attention and direct reply.

Since 2011, the number of SNAs have increased in schools by 113%. The NCSE have published the SNA allocations for the 2024/25 school year. For ease of reference these allocations are broken down by school type and are available on the NCSE's website. In 2024, the number of SNA posts in our schools will increase by 744, this will mean we will have over 21,500 SNA’s who are focused wholly and exclusively on supporting these children.

Any school who believes that they have insufficient SNA resources to support the care needs of their students can apply to the NCSE for a review of its SNA allocation. A school that has such concerns should contact their local NCSE special education needs organiser (SENO) whose details are available on the NCSE website to discuss their concerns and for support with the application process. Each case is individually managed and following the outcome of the review, the SENO is available to the school to discuss the optimal deployment of SNA support within the school. In addition, NCSE in-school support is available to schools for further guidance. Detailed information on the NCSE SNA review process is published on the NCSE website.