Seanad Éireann debate -
Thursday, 20 Jun 1996

Vol. 148 No. 2

Adjournment Matters. - Remedial/Resource Teachers for Laois Schools.

Ms Honan

I thank the Minister of State for coming into the House for this matter. The issue I am raising is the appointment of a remedial resource teacher to Camross national school in Laois which is one of a cluster of eight schools which do not have the facility of such a teacher. The other schools in the cluster are Killinure, two in Castletown, the Pike of Rushall, Borris-in-Ossory, Killesmestia and Paddock. There are two four teacher schools, five two teacher schools and one three teacher school. Between them there are approximately 560 pupils.

It is totally unacceptable that 20 years after remedial teachers were first appointed, these children should be without any remedial service. The eight schools between them need the appointment of two remedial teachers. The parents and the pupils of the schools feel they need remedial/resource teachers. These would be of huge benefit to the schools involved to deal not just with what we would usually call children who are in need of remedial teaching but also bright pupils. The teachers in these schools feel that they can deal adequately with the middle groups there, but it is the bright children and the children who tend to be a little slower in some subjects that are suffering.

I have spoken to the principal in Camross national school. She believes that as a result of not having the services of a remedial/resource teacher, many of the problems which could be addressed are not being addressed. If they had the services of a remedial/resource teacher, greater involvement of parents would be achieved. One of the issues she outlined was the fact that a lower than average percentage of children from these schools go on to third level education. She believes this is due to the fact that both the brighter and weaker children do not have the services of a remedial/resource teacher when it is needed in the primary sector.

I support the call for a remedial teacher. If two remedial teachers were appointed, these schools would be the last eight schools in County Laois to get such teachers and there would be a remedial/resource teaching facility available to all primary schools in that county. This is a reasonable demand.

Last year, 100 extra remedial teachers were appointed under the Programme for Competitiveness and Work, but it is my understanding that no remedial teachers are to be appointed in the 1996-97 academic year. It is this issue which has raised concern with the parents, teachers and pupils of these schools.

The Minister proposes to appoint remedial teachers only to schools situated in disadvantaged areas. I understand there are 25 disadvantaged rural areas and 25 disadvantaged urban areas. However, there are children with special needs in every school, and particularly in the eight schools I have outlined. It seems the Minister does not propose to provide any assistance to these children in the current year. These schools have waited long enough for this facility. In view of the fact that an appointment will not be made in 1996-97, when can these people hope to have the services of a remedial/resource teacher? Will the Minister consider making an appointment this year? These children should not be affected by the decision of the Minister to reduce the recruitment levels and appoint only 25 teachers to special schools in rural and urban disadvantaged areas. What we want is a balanced approach. I am not saying that I do not approve of remedial teachers being appointed to other disadvantaged areas, but the pupils in these schools should not be made to suffer as a result of the Minister's policy.

Minister of State at the Department of Education (Mr. Allen)

As has been indicated to the House in the past, remedial education at primary level is a matter in the first instance for the ordinary class teachers. The majority of pupils with remedial needs would, therefore, be helped within the scope of the normal teaching service. However, it is acknowledged that remedial teachers constitute the main additional resource for addressing the problem of under-achievement in primary schools.

Substantial additional resources have been allocated to this area in recent years. In 1995, an additional 55 remedial teachers were appointed to primary schools and 223 schools benefited from this allocation. This brought the total number of remedial teachers in place to 1,188. Of the 3,203 ordinary national schools throughout the country, approximately 2,285 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a full-time or shared basis.

Of the 68 ordinary national schools in County Laois, 51 now have the services of a remedial teacher, either on a fulltime or shared basis. This includes six schools allocated a remedial service in the current school year as part of the recent distribution of posts. This means that approximately 89 per cent of pupils attending ordinary national schools in County Laois currently enjoy a remedial service.

At this stage, 87 per cent of the pupils in primary schools have the possibility of access to a remedial teacher. This is a big improvement on the position since my colleague, the Minister for Education, took office in 1993, when only 77 per cent of pupils had the possibility of such access. It is a matter of regret that it is not possible at present to meet the needs of all pupils for remedial or resource teaching as, unfortunately, the Minister for Education does not have unlimited resources.

The Minister has to consider demands for improved services across a wide range of special needs. It is, unfortunately, the case that it is not possible to meet all these demands. Priorities have to be determined and resources allocated to best effect. The Minister is not in a position at present to make additional remedial/resource teacher posts available to the primary school sector.

In the current year, the Minister for Education has adopted a particular focus on the special needs of children who suffer from educational disadvantage and has sought to target resources into this area in an effort to break the cycle of disadvantage. The Minister launched a major new initiative recently aimed at bringing special targeted help to children in urban and rural areas who suffer serious educational disadvantage.

The Members of this House will be only too familiar with the difficulties which many children from disadvantaged backgrounds face and the lifelong problems which can result from failure to address the special educational needs of these children. Under this recent initiative, significant resources of both staff and funding will be targeted on selected schools in urban and rural areas which suffer from serious educational disadvantage. The Education Research Centre has been commissioned to invite applications for participation in this new initiative and it is expected that the target schools will be contacted very shortly in this regard.

The Minister for Education is satisfied that her record in developing the remedial teaching service since her appointment provides concrete evidence of her commitment to the children in question. Since her appointment, she has approved the allocation of an additional 241 remedial teachers and 29 resource teachers to the service at primary level. She is also satisfied that, within the overall resources available to her, she has succeeded in bringing about significant improvement across the entire range of services for special needs.

The Seanad adjourned at 1.20 p.m. until 2.30 p.m. on Tuesday, 25 June 1996.