Vol. 512 No. 1
69 Mr. Howlin asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will respond positively to the recent call by the INTO for increased resources for information and communications technology to enhance the learning opportunities for children with special needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25365/99]
I recently announced details of an additional round of allocations under the existing Schools IT 2000 programme. These grants amount to £9.77 million and are focused on a number of areas and, in particular special needs, guidance and staff support.
To support the integration of ICTs into teaching and learning, every school recognised for grant purposes under the free education scheme will be provided with grant aid of £4 per pupil for the purchase of educational software. Schools may opt to spend some of the grant on hardware if this is more appropriate to local needs. The NCTE will, through the ScoilNet web site, provide all schools with wide-ranging advice on software purchase. The ScoilNet site will also include software reviews compiled by experienced teachers. Schools will ensure that an appropriate selection of software is made available for children with special needs enrolled in each school.
To assist the integration of ICTs into the education of children served by remedial teachers and resource teachers for children with disabilities, a grant of £700 will be made available to support the work of each of the teachers concerned. The number of serving remedial teachers is 1,463 and the number of serving resource teachers for children with disabilities is 285. The grant may be used for the purchase of relevant hardware and/or software items e.g. literacy and numeracy software, for the remedial and resource teacher service.
In 1998 I established a fund of £0.25 million to enable the provision of ICT equipment for individual special needs pupils. I propose to increase the fund to £0.5 million for 1999.
