Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 April 2004
406 Ms B. Moynihan-Cronin asked the Minister for Education and Science if his review of special needs assistance in schools has been completed; if so, the findings of same; the steps he is taking to increase the availability of special needs assistance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11686/04]
View answerSpecial needs assistants may be approved to assist a pupil who has a significant medical need for such assistance, a significant impairment of physical or sensory function, or where his or her behaviour is a danger to the pupil or other pupils. The criteria used for the assessment of the need for special needs assistant support is outlined in circular 07/02. The circular may be accessed in my Department's website under "Children with Special Needs". Any application received will be considered in the context of the criteria set out in the circular and the existing level of special needs assistant provision in the school.
Applications for special educational resources, or SER, 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 those 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, or NEPS. Those 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 nation-wide 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. In that context, 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. 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 it 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 was issued in September 2003. That circular contains practical advice on how to achieve the most effective deployment of resources already allocated for special educational needs within the school.
