Cut to numbers may be revisited

A CUT to the number of special needs assistants for children with autism at St Senan’s Primary School may be revisited after complaints about the appeals process.

The Irish Examiner highlighted yesterday how the appeal lodged by the school last October was not even considered but the decision was only notified to staff and parents last week.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) had said the loss of SNAs could not be considered within the appeals process because the overall number of SNAs at the autism unit for 18 pupils was above those set out in Department of Education policy.

But the school insists any SNAs employed were properly sanctioned by the NCSE or the department to meet the children’s needs, based on reports of health professionals. It also accused the NCSE of shifting the goalposts by allowing it to submit an appeal eight months ago and now saying it was inappropriate to use the process.

In response to queries submitted on Monday, the NCSE issued a statement to the Irish Examiner, saying it acknowledges there were issues in relation to the appeal process.

“Accordingly, the NCSE has requested the senior Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) and the [local] SENO to visit the school this week,” it said.

“The Department of Education requested the NCSE to allocate SNAs to all schools, including St Senan’s, in line with its policy. The NCSE allocates resources to all schools on this basis,” the statement said.