Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
352 Mr. Kehoe asked the Minister for Education and Science the status of the application for a special needs assistant for a person (details supplied) in County Wexford; and if the application will be processed before the person starts school in order that arrangements can be made; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11405/04]
View answerI can confirm that my Department has received an application for special educational resources SER for the pupil referred to by the Deputy. SER applications received between 15 February and 31 August 2003 are being considered at present. In all, more than 5,000 such applications were received. Priority was 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.
I can confirm that my Department is at present reviewing existing arrangements for the allocation of special educational supports to primary schools. My officials have been involved in on-going discussions on a weighted system of allocation of resource teaching support with representative interests. At this stage, 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 that 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 already allocated for special educational needs within the school.
The arrangements for processing applications received after the 31 August 2003, including the one for the pupil in question, 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.
353 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the difficulty for many children with special needs in gaining access to specialist back-up services which are supplied only through health funded agencies; if his attention has been further drawn to the difficulty of the Beechpark service in meeting the demands on its resources; and if he has proposals to develop a more integrated service for delivering health board based and education based services to children who need them. [11413/04]
View answerI expect that any difficulties arising for children in accessing services such as those described by the Deputy would be brought to the attention of the relevant health board in the first instance. It would be inappropriate for me to comment on how those authorities manage their resources. I am fully committed to continuing the provision of teaching and special needs assistant support for children who have been assessed as having special educational needs. In line with that commitment, part of the remit of the national educational psychological service is to work in close collaboration with the health boards and liaison mechanisms at national, regional and local level.
A key focus of my Department has been on advancing the fundamental structural measures which are necessary to underpin the development and delivery of services for children with special educational needs. To that end, a number of meetings have taken place between senior officials in my Department and their counterparts in the Department of Health and Children in relation to the drafting of the Education for Persons with Disabilities Bill 2003 and the establishment of the National Council for Special Education.
The Bill, when enacted, will provide a clear and enforceable statement in law of the rights of children from birth to 18 years who, because of disabilities, have special educational needs. Provision will be made in the Bill for a statutory structure which will guarantee the educational rights of these children, and also for a formal appeals mechanism. My objective is to secure the passage of this legislation through the Oireachtas as quickly as possible.
The National Council for Special Education is formally established and the recruitment process for the new grade of special education needs organisers, SENOs, is almost complete. Up to 80 SENOs will be engaged ultimately by the council. This will facilitate the provision of a range of services at local and national level in order that the educational needs of children with disabilities are identified and provided for. As part of its remit, the council will liaise with the health boards in relation to the co-ordination and consistency of their respective functions.
