Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
332 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will confirm that funds will be provided to St. Peter’s school in Dunboyne for the provision of a special needs classroom, together with the funding to provide a special needs teacher for the students who require it; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11245/04]
View answerMy Department allocates additional resources to second level schools and vocational educational committees to cater for students with special educational needs. Applications for such support are made to my Department by the relevant school authority or VEC. Each application is considered on the basis of the assessed needs of the pupils involved and the nature and level of support provided is determined on the advice of the psychological service. An application was received in my Department for extra resources for a number of pupils on 19 March 2004. This application has been referred to the psychological service for investigation and the relevant VEC authorities will be notified of the decision as soon as the report and recommendations of the psychological service have been received and considered. My Department has not received an application by the relevant VEC authorities to provided funds for the provision of a special needs classroom for St. Peter's school, Dunboyne.
333 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide a full-time learning support teacher for a school (details supplied) in County Galway; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the present clustered arrangement with four other schools is not providing the learning support needed; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11246/04]
View answerMy Department is reviewing existing arrangements for the allocation of special educational supports to primary schools. In that context, my officials have been involved in ongoing discussions on a weighted system of allocation with representative interests. It would be premature to anticipate the outcome for the school in question. I can confirm, however that the basic purpose of the review is to ensure each school has the resources required to cater for its pupils with special educational needs.
334 Mr. Hogan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will provide funding to extend the hours of a resource teacher at Carrigeen national school, Carrigeen, County Kilkenny; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11247/04]
View answerMy Department has received an application for special educational resources, SER from the school referred to by the Deputy. SER applications received between 15 February and 31 August 2003, including those made by this school, are being considered. More than 5,000 such applications were received. Priority has been given to cases involving children starting school last September and all these cases were responded to at or before the commencement of the current school year.
The balance of more than 4,000 applications has been reviewed by a dedicated team comprising members of my Department's inspectorate and the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. These applications are being further considered in the context of the outcome of surveys of SER provision conducted over the past year or so. Account is also being taken of the data submitted by schools as part of the nationwide census of SER provision.
My Department is reviewing existing arrangements for the allocation of special educational supports to primary schools. In that context, my officials have been involved in ongoing discussions on a weighted system of allocation of resource teaching support with representative interests. It would be premature to anticipate the outcome for the school referred to by the Deputy. However, the basic purpose of the new system is to ensure each school has the level of resources required to cater for its pupils with special educational needs.
This process is a complex and time consuming operation. However, my Department is endeavouring to have this completed as quickly as possible and my officials will then respond to all applicant schools. Pending a response, schools are advised to refer to circular 24/03, which issued in September 2003. This circular contains practical advice on how to achieve the most effective deployment of resources allocated for special educational needs within the school. The arrangements for processing applications received after 31 August 2003 will be also be considered in the context of the proposed new weighted system of allocation. A further communication will be sent to schools in this regard.
