Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 18 May 2004
177 Mr. N. O’Keeffe asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the appointment of a special needs assistant at a primary school in respect of a person (details supplied) in County Cork; and the increase in the number of hours which the person receives with the resource teacher. [14144/04]
View answerMy Department received an application for an increase in resource teaching support from 2.5 hours to five hours per week and full time special needs assistant support 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 and the data submitted by schools as part of a nationwide census of SER provision.
The processing of the applications 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 detailed arrangements for processing applications for resources, including those for special needs assistants and those received after 31 August last, will be set out in a circular to be issued to schools before the end of the current school year. It is intended, also, that schools due to receive the additional posts will be notified within this timeframe
178 Mr. S. Power asked the Minister for Education and Science the rate of pay received by special needs assistants in infant schools and senior schools; if he is considering changes in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14180/04]
View answerSpecial needs assistant posts are allocated by my Department where the professionally assessed needs of a child or children involved is such as to require the delivery of such support. Posts sanctioned in all primary schools are either full time or part time, with the rate of pay applied on an incremental basis. A copy of the salary scale applicable from 1 January 2004 follow for the Deputy's information.
|
1 January 2004 |
Part-time |
Hourly Rate |
|
€ |
€ |
|
|
Point 1 |
19,733 |
9.22 |
|
20,660 |
9.66 |
|
|
21,584 |
10.09 |
|
|
22,511 |
10.52 |
|
|
23,438 |
10.96 |
|
|
24,364 |
11.39 |
|
|
25,289 |
11.82 |
|
|
26,211 |
12.25 |
|
|
27,139 |
12.69 |
|
|
28,062 |
13.12 |
|
|
28,992 |
13.55 |
|
|
30,738 |
14.37 |
|
|
Long service increment w.e.f 1/4/2000 |
31,981 |
14.95 |
179 Mr. Stagg asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will sanction the provision of a special needs assistant and resource hours for a person (details supplied) in County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14193/04]
View answerMy Department allocates resource teaching support and special needs assistant support to second level schools and vocational education committees to cater for students with special educational needs. Applications for such support are made to my Department by the relevant school authorities. Each application is considered on the basis of the assessed needs of the pupil or pupils involved and the nature and level of support provided is determined on the advice of the psychological service.
An application for additional support for the pupil in question was received in my Department on 30 March 2004 and is currently under consideration. The school authorities will be notified of the decision on the application as soon as possible.
180 Mr. Perry asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans he has in place to deal with the lack of appropriate educational provision for children with autism such as applied behavioural analysis and TEACCH programmes which are not available or not implemented in the Sligo/Leitrim region; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that a support group has identified the need to provide a special unit attached to a mainstream school providing appropriate management and opportunities to integrate: if resources necessary for the implementation of the ABA/TEACCH programmes will be sanctioned: the amount of funding that will be allocated; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14197/04]
View answerAs a matter of general policy, I am prepared to support the development of additional education provision for children with special needs where there is no existing provision or where such provision is not adequate to meet demand. I can confirm that applications for the establishment of autism-specific classes have been received from two schools in the Sligo area recently and these are currently under consideration by my officials. Contact will be made with the schools involved when this process is complete.
181 Mr. Connaughton asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding an application for resource teaching for a person (details supplied) in County Galway; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14210/04]
View answerI can confirm that my Department has received applications for special educational resources, SER, for the pupil referred to by the Deputy. SER applications received between 15 February and 31 August 2003, including one for the pupil in question 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 and the data submitted by schools as part of a nationwide census of SER provision.
The processing of the applications 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.
In the case of teacher resources, the outcome for each applicant school will be based on a new weighted system of allocation which I announced recently. This system, as part of which an additional 350 teaching posts will be allocated, will involve two main elements: making a staffing allocation to schools based on a predicted incidence of pupils with special educational needs and making individual allocations in the case of children with more acute lower-prevalence special educational needs. It is expected that the change to a weighted system will bring with it a number of benefits. The new system will reduce the need for individualised educational psychological assessment, reduce the volume of applications to my Department for additional resources for individual pupils, and give greater flexibility to schools, which will facilitate the development and implementation of improved systems and procedures in schools to meet the needs of pupils with low achievement and pupils with special educational needs.
Transitional arrangements for the introduction of the weighted system are being developed at present in consultation with representative interests. As soon as those consultations have been completed, the detailed arrangements for processing applications for resources, including those for special needs assistants and those received after 31 August last, will be set out in a circular to be issued to schools before the end of the current school year. It is intended, also, that applicant schools will be notified of the outcome in their case within this timeframe.
