09 March 2015Ref No: NCSE 02/15

Guidelinesfor Principals and Boards of Management of Special Schoolsfor 2015/2016

Note 1:
Department of Education and Skills Transport Section has indicated that the closing date for receipt of applications for school transport is April 24th 2015
Please ensure applications for transport are submitted to SENO in advance of this date.
Key Dates
April 2nd 2015:Schools to submit the confirmation of leavers form to SENO (if not already sent). The Confirmation of Leavers form (Form 5) may be downloaded from the NCSE website
April 2nd 2015: Schools to notify their SENO of any proposed expansion of enrolment.
April 24th2015:Deadline for Applications for School Transport to be made to DES.
6th May 2015:Schools to notify SENO of new entrants for 15/16 school year. The Notification of enrolment in special school /special class form (Form 7) is available at
June 2015: NCSE to issue allocation to schools (Teaching and SNA supports) for the 15/16 school year.
September 2015:Schools to confirm to SENO that all Students enrolled are attending the school. The student attendance confirmation form is available at

Students with SEN Leaving at the end of 2015/16 School Year

Schools should immediately forward the list of students who will be leaving at the end of the school year.TheConfirmation of Leavers Form (Special Schools Form 5) is available on schools where no students are leaving the school should complete the form signalling a NIL return.

Expansion in Enrolment

Where a school is seeking to expand itsenrolment, they should notify the SENO of this by Thursday 2ndApril. This will enable the NCSE to ensure that the provisions of DES Circulars 38/2010 and 42/2011 are met.

Notification of new entrants – 6th May 2015

A deadline of 6thMay2015applies for the receipt of notification of enrolment forms for new entrants.The Notification of Enrolment in Special Schools (Form7) is available at

Teacher allocation will be based on the school’s pupil profile in line with the provisions of DES Circular 0038/2010.

Information on school leavers and new entrant information is required to determine teaching and SNA supports for the school year 15/16. It is acknowledged that the enrolment process for most special schools continues up to May, however all available documentation and details for known new entrants should be returned by 6th May to enable theNCSE toissue teaching and SNA allocations to special schools in early to mid-June.

In September each school will be required to confirm pupil attendance to the SENO.The Student Attendance Confirmation Form (Form 6) is available on the website

Students with Behavioural Care Needs

Schools should be aware that where SNA support is being requested for a pupil with SEN and where the primary reason for the application relates to behavioural care needs, the application should be accompanied by the BCN1 form. The BCN1 form allows the school demonstrate what strategies and positive behaviour supports have been put in place to manage the behaviour prior to requesting access to SNA supports.

The BCN form is available on the website

NEPS has published ‘Behavioural, Emotional and Social Difficulties - A Continuum of Support for Primary Schools - Guidelines for Teachers” to help schools develop systems, skills and structures for responding to the needs of Students with behavioural, emotional and social, as well as learning, needs. These guidelines can be downloaded from

Applications for School Transport and/or Assistive Technology

Applications for School Transport (Form 2) and applications for Assistive Technology (Form 3) can be made to the SENO. Form 2 and Form 3 are available on the website

In the majority of applications received, it is likely to be the case that the special school is not the nearest school to where the student lives so the application and accompanying documents should explain why the school is the nearest suitable school that can meet the needs of the student.

Please note that DES Transport Section has indicated that the closing date for applications for transport is April 24thplease ensure applications for transport are submitted to SENO in advance of this date.

NCSE Appeals Process

A special school or a parent may submit an appeal to the resources allocated if they consider that the SENO, in applying DES policy, has not allocated the appropriate level of class teaching and/or SNA supports to the school to meet the special education and care needs of the children concerned they may submit an appeal.

The NCSE appeals process, forms and a Frequently Asked Questions document are available on the NCSE website

List of Forms (Available on Website)

Application Form for additional SNA Supportsin Special SchoolsForm1

Application Form for Transport Form 2

Application Form for Assistive TechnologyForm 3

Confirmation of LeaversFormForm 5

Student Attendance Confirmation Form Form 6

Notification of Enrolment in Special SchoolForm 7

BCN1Form

Quick Reference Guide to Care Needs

Sé Goulding

Head of Operations

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