A primary school in the midlands has launched High Court proceedings over the National Council for Special Education’s refusal to allocate it additional special needs assistants (SNAs).
The action has been taken by the Board of Management of Shinrone National School in Co Offaly, which says it sought the additional SNAs so it can fully and properly care for the needs of current students and those due to be enrolled later this year.
The co-educational school currently has five mainstream teachers, two Special Education Needs teachers, an autism class teacher and six SNAs.
Late last year it asked the NCSE, the state body whose functions include the provision of education to persons with special needs, for additional SNA support.
This is because the school will have more students who will need additional SNA support.
It believes that its current allocation will not be sufficient to meet those needs.
The application was rejected and the school board lodged an appeal over that decision to the NSCE’s Independent Appeals Advisory Committee which will have the final say on the matter.
However the school board claims that the appeal has yet to be heard and no date has been set for the hearing of the appeal.
The board claims that the delay in hearing the appeal amounts to a breach of fair procedures.
The board, represented by Feichin McDonagh SC and Brendan Hennessy Bl, instructed by solicitor Patrick O’Neill, said that there was some urgency to the application, because the current school year is coming to an end.
If the appeal is not heard soon, the board says it would find itself in a new school year when the entire process of seeking the allocation of SNAs from the NCSE starts again.
As a result the school’s board has brought High Court judicial review proceedings where it seeks an order compelling the NCSE to determine its appeal.
The matter came before Ms Justice Niamh Hyland, who granted the school’s board permission on an ex-parte basis to bring its challenge.
The judge noting the exceptional urgency of the claim, adjourned the case to a date later this month.
