Vol. 501 No. 6
402 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science the funds, if any, provided in the 1999 budget for specialists pre-school service for children with a special need; if he will give details of this allocation; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6747/99]
A special funding allocation of £1.2 million is being made available over the next two years for special initiatives on early childhood education. It is intended that this funding will focus in particular on early childhood education services for children with disabilties.
Work is currently taking place in my Department on the preparation of a White Paper on Early Childhood Education which I hope to publish later this year. The White Paper will set out my proposals for the future development of early education services generally, including services for children with special needs.
The funding referred to above will allow for initiatives to be taken in the special needs area in advance of the White Paper. My Department is currently considering possible developments in this regard.
403 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science the allocation, if any, made to date for special support teaching for children with a special educational need; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6748/99]
Children with special educational needs have access to a range of special support services. In some instances, such children can function quite successfully in an integrated setting with the support, where necessary, of the remedial, resource or visiting teacher services. In other cases, the needs of the child can be such as to require placement in a special school dedicated to a particular disability or a special class attached to an ordinary school. All special schools and special classes enjoy significantly reduced pupil teacher ratios and receive special rates of capitation funding.
My Department also makes funding available for the purchase of specialised equipment to assist children with special educational needs.
I recently announced a major new development in special education services under which all children with special needs within the primary system will henceforth have an automatic entitlement to a response to those needs. The response may take the form of additional teacher support or child care support or both, depending on the needs of the individual child. The response in question will be available, irrespective of the number of children involved or their location. This initiative will be of particular benefit to children with special educational needs who wish to participate in the education system on a fully integrated basis.
404 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science further to Parliamentary Question No. 179 of 3 December 1998 the consideration, if any, given by his Department to allowing children with a special need to be registered on two school registers, allowing them to spend four days per week in the mainstream national school and one day per week in a special school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [6749/99]
The issue raised by the Deputy is under active consideration in my Department. I will support any measure which will be of benefit to special needs children.
I am fully aware of the benefits which can accrue to some children through being able to attend a special school for a number of days per week and attend an ordinary school for the remainder of the week. In the special school, the child has the benefit of the more intensive support services available in such facilities. In the ordinary school, the child can benefit from mixing with his or her peers and generally enjoy a greater degree of socialisation.
The key issue is one of ensuring that any necessary special support services are made available to enable the child to function successfully in both situations. Depending on the needs of the child, such supports might involve the allocation of additional teaching hours, child care assistant support or the provision of specialised equipment to the ordinary school.
In some situations, the needs of the child might be such as to also require special transport arrangements.
My Department is currently examining how best to structure the necessary responses to ensure that children availing of a dual attendance arrangement derive maximum benefit in both locations.
