05 July 2011

Parliamentary Questions

• Children with Down syndrome and SNAs
• Using school inspectors to ensure SNAs are used correctly
• ABA Academy
• Criteria for Springboard Scheme
• Transition to post-primary school for children with autism
• Reason Kilkenny Vocational Educational Committee has refused to establish a special class to cater for eight autistic children
• Loss of SNAs in Co. Cork
• Number of SNAs employed at each school in Monaghan
• Rent charged on buildings rented out by the State (NCSE offices)

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTIONS

• Children with Down syndrome and SNAs

Deputy John O’Mahony (FG): asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to review SP ED 02/05 in order that Down syndrome qualifies for special needs assistance;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  I wish to clarify for the Deputy that pupils with Down syndrome may receive additional teaching support in primary schools, either under the terms of the General Allocation Model (GAM) of teaching supports, if the pupil’s educational psychological assessment places the pupil in the mild general learning disability/high incidence disability category, or through an allocation of individual additional resource teaching hours if the child is assessed as being within the low incidence category of special need, as defined by my Department’s Circular Sp Ed 02/05. Pupils with Down syndrome who have care needs may also receive access to Special Needs Assistant support. A review of the General Allocation Model has been undertaken and completed by my Department. The issue of whether Down syndrome should be classified as a low incidence disability in all instances was considered as part of this review. The recommendations of the review will be considered in the context of the Departments Employment Control Framework obligations and competing demands on teacher numbers and educational resources.

• Using school inspectors to ensure SNAs are used correctly

Deputy Robert Dowds (L): asked the Minister for Education and Skills   if he will use the schools inspectorate at both primary and secondary levels to ensure that special needs assistants are best placed in terms of pupil or student needs;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  The Deputy will be aware that Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) are allocated to schools to enable them to support the care needs of pupils with disabilities who also have a significant medical need or a significant impairment of physical or sensory impairment. Students with an assessed special educational need who present with significantly challenging behaviour may also qualify for some SNA support. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which was established under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act, 2004 (EPSEN Act) has responsibility for processing resource applications, including applications for SNA support, for children with disabilities who have special educational needs through its regional Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs). The NCSE also has responsibility for planning and co-ordinating the provision of education and support services for students with special educational needs, in accordance with my Department’s policy. The NCSE may seek the advice of my Departments inspectorate division, if required, on educational matters concerning children with special educational needs. However it is the responsibility of the NCSE to allocate SNA posts to schools and to ensure that SNAs are best placed to meet the care needs of eligible pupils. The NCSE operates within my Department’s criteria in allocating supports which now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts. The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the allocation process for the 2011/2012 school year. A key feature of the amended scheme will be to provide for an annual allocation of SNA support to eligible schools. The NCSE asked schools to submit all applications for SNA support to them by 18th March 2011 and are currently in the process of informing schools of their annual SNA allocation for the coming school year.

• ABA Academy

Deputy John Lyons (L): asked the Minister for Education and Skills    further to Parliamentary Question No 138 of 19 April 2011, if he has now considered in full a proposal from an organisation (details supplied);

Deputy Alan Farrell (FG): asked the Minister for Education and Skills    if he will be meeting or has met with representatives of the proposed ABA academy for children with Autism;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn: I have asked that my officials arrange a meeting with representatives of the centre in question, which I hope will take place later this week. My Department has taken a decision not to provide funding to support the centre referred to by the Deputies as the proposal submitted was not in line with my Department’s policy on educational provision for children with autism.

As the Deputies are aware my Department’s policy is focused on ensuring that all children, including those with autism, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network. This facilitates access to individualised education programmes, fully qualified professional teachers who may draw from a range of autism-specific interventions, including ABA, special needs assistants, and the appropriate school curriculum with the option where possible of full/partial integration and interaction with other pupils. As each child with autism is unique it is important that children have access to a range of interventions so their broader needs can be met. My Department’s policy is to provide for children with special educational needs, including autism, to be included in mainstream schools unless such a placement would not be in their best interests or the interests of the children with whom they are to be educated. Some children may be supported in a special class attached to a mainstream school. These students have the option, where appropriate, of full/partial integration and interaction with other pupils. Other children may have such complex needs that they are best placed in a special school. Students with special educational needs have access to a range of support services including additional teaching and/or care supports. In special schools and special classes, students are supported through lower pupil teacher ratios. Special needs assistants may also be recruited specifically where pupils with disabilities and significant care needs are enrolled.

• Criteria for Springboard Scheme

Deputy Alan Farrell (FG): asked the Minister for Education and Skills    his plans for the improvement of the qualifying criteria for the Springboard schemes to include recently unemployed persons who would not normally qualify;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  Springboard is a specific initiative targeted at unemployed people who have lost jobs in sectors where employment levels will not return and who will need new qualifications and skills to re-enter employment as the economy recovers. To be eligible for a place on a Springboard course an applicant must have been unemployed for a minimum of six months when the course starts. At the time of starting a Springboard course an applicant also must be in receipt of Jobseekers Allowance, Jobseeker’s Benefit or One Parent Family Payment or be signing for contribution credits and be available and actively seeking employment. The rationale for applying a six months waiting criteria to the initiative is to ensure that the limited resources available for Springboard are directed at unemployed people, who may be most in need of upskilling or reskilling in order to get back into employment. In calculating the qualifying period of six months unemployed, time in receipt of any of the following allowances will also be taken into account: - Disability Allowance - Back to Education Allowance (BTEA) - Back to Work Enterprise Allowance (BTWEA) - VTOS training allowance - FAS Training Allowance.

• Transition to post-primary school for children with autism

Deputy Seán Ó Fearghaíl (FF): asked the Minister for Education and Skills the strategy he is adopting to ensure that children on the autistic spectrum and other children with special needs currently being educated in mainstream primary schools can continue their education at post-primary level while retaining all essential supports; the way he proposes to approach the situation in which some post-primary schools refused to admit children with special needs or refused to develop ASD units to meet the specific demands of students in their catchment areas who progressed from such units at primary level;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn): The Deputy will be aware of my Department’s commitment to ensuring that all children, including those with special needs, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. The expansion in the network of autism-specific special classes in schools is reflective of the recent commitment to educational provision for children with special educational needs and this commitment remains a key Government priority. The Deputy will be aware that there has been unprecedented investment in providing supports for pupils with special needs in recent years, with over €1 billion being spent this year in supporting special educational provision. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for co-ordinating special needs education provision at local level and arranging for the delivery of special educational services. The SENOs act as single points of contact for parents of students with special educational needs. Another specific function of the SENO is to identify appropriate educational placements for children with special educational needs. Each SENO works in an assigned local area with parents, schools, teachers, psychologists, health professionals and other staff who are involved in the provision of services in that area for children with special educational needs. SENOs are a valuable resource to parents and in particular at times of transition for children including for example to post primary level where an element of forward planning may be required. All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. Parents may also contact SENOs directly to discuss their child’s special educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

The Deputy will be aware that enrolment issues are a matter in the first instance for the parents of children and the Boards of Management of schools where they wish to have their children enrolled. My Department has no role in relation to processing applications for enrolment to schools. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) is the statutory agency which assists parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The NEWB will try to help parents to find an alternative school placement if their child has been unable to secure a placement to date.

• Reason Kilkenny Vocational Educational Committee has refused to establish a special class to cater for eight autistic children

Deputy John McGuinness (FF): asked the Minister for Education and Skills  the reason Kilkenny Vocational Educational Committee has refused to establish a special class to cater for eight autistic children, a project supported by him with a grant of €80,000; the information that was available to the VEC when members considered the matter at their June meeting which led them to the decision not to approve the class; if he will insist on the decision being reversed in view of the demand for such places in Kilkenny city;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through the local special educational needs organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from primary and post primary schools for special educational needs supports including the approval of special classes for autism. The NCSE operates within my Department’s criteria in allocating such support.  All schools have the names and contact details of their local SENO. 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. I have arranged for the information requested by the Deputy to be forwarded to the NCSE for their direct reply.

• Loss of SNAs in Co. Cork

Deputy Michael McCarthy (L): asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will confirm the number of special needs assistants in County Cork who will lose their jobs as a result of the decision to cap numbers of whole-time equivalent SNAs to 10,575;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  I wish to inform the Deputy that 10,575 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts are being provided for SNA support for the coming school year. This is a significant number of posts and unlike other areas of the public sector vacancies are being filled up to this number.

It is considered that with equitable and careful management and distribution of these resources that there should be sufficient posts to provide access to SNA support for all children who require such care support to attend school, in accordance with Departmental criteria.

I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs) for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department’s criteria in allocating such support. This now includes a requirement for the NCSE to have regard to an overall cap on the number of SNA posts.

The NCSE has issued a circular to all schools advising of the allocation process for the 2011/2012 school year. A key feature of the amended scheme will be to provide for an annual allocation of Special Needs Assistant support to eligible schools.

The NCSE asked schools to submit all applications for SNA support to them by 18th March, 2011 and are currently in the process of informing schools of their annual SNA allocation for the coming school year. As this process is ongoing, it is not possible to provide details of the level of allocation of SNAs in any given area

• Number of SNAs employed at each school in Monaghan

Deputy Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (SF): asked the Minister for Education and Skills the numbers of special needs assistants employed at each school in County Monaghan for the school year beginning September 2010 in tabular form; the corresponding figure for each of the years 2009, 2008 and 2007; the expected figures for 2011;

Minister for Education and Skills (Deputy Ruairí Quinn):  The information requested by the Deputy on the number of special needs assistants employed in County Monaghan is not readily available.

The number of Special Needs Assistants employed nationally from 2007 to 2010 is set out below. The details for each year are the December figures for the year in question. The primary schools information is inclusive of the special schools details.

The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating special needs resources to schools to support children with special educational needs. The NCSE operates within my Department’s criteria in allocating such support. The NCSE will continue to support schools, parents, children and teachers and special needs assistants will continue to be deployed to schools to meet children’s needs in line with my Department’s policy. Number of Special Needs Assistants

• Rent charged on buildings rented out by the State (NCSE offices)

Deputy Jonathan O’Brien (SF): asked the Minister for Finance if he will provide a list of the revenue gained by the State from buildings leased by the State to either private sector or public sector tenants which are currently subject to upward only rent reviews.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance (Deputy Brian Hayes):  The Office of Public Works (OPW) has 94 leases where non-OPW parties fund rent. As will be seen from the following tables, virtually all the parties to these leases are State bodies and agencies. Based on current indicative information, this lease stock involves:

76 leases that attach to rented buildings and the total rental revenue is € 10,721,082 – see Table A below

18 leases that attach to owned buildings and the total rental revenue is € 1,602,067 – see Table B below

The leases pertinent to the rented buildings (Table A) attract the upward rent review clause and the leases associated with owned buildings (Table B) are currently being reviewed in this regard.

Rented Buildings – Monies billed by OPW

Owned Buildings – Monies billed by OPW

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