Vol. 525 No. 2
867 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Science if regular assessments on progress are carried out with Down's Syndrome persons; if not, the reason therefor; his views on the general level of communication between parents and teachers of Down's syndrome children; his further views on the importance of such communications; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24241/00]
It is a function of each class teacher to monitor the progress of pupils with Down's Syndrome in his or her classroom. This should be undertaken on a regular basis and should be broadly based, covering the various curricular areas and the different areas of child development. In general, this type of regular monitoring is adequate. Where there is cause for concern, the pupil can be referred for re-assessment to the service that originally conducted the pupil's assessment. Such assessments can also be arranged at key stages in the pupil's school life.
Schools are advised to communicate regularly with the parents of all pupils, including those with Down's Syndrome. Teachers do so at parent-teacher meetings, at informal meetings with parents and in written progress reports. I can assure the Deputy that I would regard it as very important that parents of all pupils, including those with Down's Syndrome, be kept informed of their children's progress.
868 Mr. Kenny asked the Minister for Education and Science the categories of children deemed to require special needs status; the estimated numbers in each such category; the overall level of finance available to meet the demands required; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24243/00]
My Department's response to special education needs is based on the following categorisations: visual impairment; hearing impairment; profound hearing impairment; mild general learning disability; moderate general learning disability; severe-profound general learning disability; emotional disturbance; severe emotional disturbance; physical disability; specific speech and language disorder; specific learning disability; multiple disabilities and autism-autistic spectrum disorder.
The Deputy will appreciate that individual children can suffer from more than one disability and in varying degrees. Ultimately, the response provided is determined by reference to the professionally assessed needs of the individual child.
Precise details of the number of children involved in each specific disability category are not readily available in my Department. However, I can confirm that approximately 7,400 children are enrolled in special dedicated schools; a further 4,000 approximately are enrolled in special classes attached to ordinary schools; and approximately 7,100 children with special needs are attending mainstream schools on an integrated basis.
In October 1998 the Government decided that all children with special needs within the primary system should be entitled to an automatic response to their needs, irrespective of the level of need involved or their location. As a result of this development my Department has now sanctioned a total of over 660 full-time resource teachers and over 1,440 full-time special needs assistants to support children with special needs in integrated settings. Further resource teacher and special needs assistant posts are being allocated on an ongoing basis in response to assessed needs. In addition, there are approximately 1,000 teachers employed in the special school system.
The allocations in question are not limited by reference to available finance. Rather, the number of posts allocated is determined solely by the level of need which requires to be addressed.
In the second level system, the equivalent of 70 whole-time special needs assistant posts and 240 whole-time resource teacher posts have been allocated to cater for children with special needs.
