Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 October 2004
333 Ms O’Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science when she will address the learning support needs of a school (details supplied) in County Dublin which awaits decisions in her Department on application for two special needs assistants and resource teaching hours for four additional children who have been assessed as needing resource teaching; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23475/04]
View answerThe school referred to by the Deputy was advised of its teacher allocation under the new weighted system on 24 June 2004.
An additional 350 teacher posts are being provided to facilitate the introduction of the new system. This system will involve a general weighted allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher-incidence special educational needs, SEN, that is, those with borderline mild and mild general learning disability and specific learning disability, as well as those with learning support needs. In addition, it will continue to allow for individual allocations in respect of pupils with lower-incidence special educational needs. The weighted system will be made as follows: in the most disadvantaged schools, as per the urban dimension of Giving Children an Even Break, a teacher of pupils with special educational needs will be allocated for every 80 pupils to cater for the subset of pupils with higher incidence special needs; in all boys schools, the ratio will be one teacher for every 140 pupils; in mixed schools, or all girls schools with an enrolment of greater than 30% boys, one for every 150 pupils; and in all girls schools, including schools with mixed junior classes but with 30% or less boys overall, one for every 200 pupils.
The weighted allocation will enable teaching support to be provided to pupils with higher-incidence SEN and learning support needs. This will obviate the need for schools to submit individual applications for pupils in those categories. Schools may continue to apply for specific teacher allocations in respect of pupils with lower-incidence SEN.
My Department now proposes to devise school clusters in respect of allocations to be made under the weighted model. Sanction for the filling of posts will be considered in the context of these clusters and the weighted arrangements. In order to facilitate the full introduction of the weighted model from the school year 2005-06, my Department has agreed not to redeploy surplus teachers from full-time posts via the panel redeployment process during the current school year. Schools have been informed, also, that they may retain excess part-time teaching hours to the extent that such hours are required for children with low-incidence SEN.
In the context of the school in question, it would be expected that the needs of pupils who fall within the high-incidence disability categories can be met from within the current resource learning support teaching allocation available to the school. At this stage, the school has received a response to all applications for resource teaching support in respect of pupils in the low-incidence disability categories.
334 Mr. Hayes asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of schools in County Tipperary which have applied to her Department for special needs assistance; and the number of sanctions in the past five years. [23476/04]
View answerThe information requested by the Deputy is not readily available.
It will be possible to compile the information relating to the number of applications for special needs assistant support and this will be forwarded to the Deputy in the near future.
