Vol. 509 No. 3
78 Mr. Naughten asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the delay in the appointment of minders on special school buses; the discussions, if any, he has had with representatives of the boards of management of special schools in relation to the issue; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19993/99]
In the current year, I secured a special funding allocation to facilitate the appointment of an escort on every special transport route. Arising from this development, my Department has issued a total of 578 escort grants, at £4,995 per escort, to the management of the schools concerned, to implement this scheme in the current school year.
While many schools have warmly welcomed the introduction of the escort scheme and are in the process of putting their escort services in place, some schools have expressed concerns and reservations at taking on responsibility for the escort scheme. This has resulted in delays in some areas in the implementation of the scheme.
I have recently spoken to the members of the management boards of special schools on this issue. I have advised them of my belief that the most appropriate people to operate the escort scheme are the schools which are catering for the pupils in question on a daily basis and are familiar with the needs of the children in question. I have asked all schools involved to use the escort funding that has been made available to them to proceed with the scheme.
At the same time, I have arranged for senior officials of my Department's to meet with representatives of the management body for the special schools to discuss the some specific concerns which have been raised by some of the schools. This meeting will take place in the near future.
