Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 November 2004
11 Mr. Gormley asked the Minister for Education and Science the plans in place to roll out the additional funding in the areas of special education and educational disadvantage to ensure that this funding goes to those who need it most in the areas of early childhood education and literacy; if this will include a new commitment to reduce class sizes in primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30631/04]
View answerEvery effort is made to ensure that children with special educational needs receive an education appropriate to their needs. Decisions regarding the most appropriate model of response in each case are based on the professionally-assessed needs of the individual child. My Department is continuing to prioritise the development of the network of special educational provision for children with special needs and the steps taken in recent years and those currently in hand represent significant progress in the development of those services.
At present, there are more than 5,700 teachers in primary schools supporting pupils with special educational and learning support needs. In addition, there are in excess of 5,000 special needs assistant posts allocated to meet the special care needs of such pupils. Those posts assist nearly 6,000 children. The enactment of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act and the establishment of the National Council for Special Education will provide the key building blocks to underpin service delivery in the future.
My approach in addressing the issue of educational disadvantage is set in the context of the Government's National Action Plan Against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2003-2005 and the latest partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, which contains a special initiative focused on literacy, numeracy and early school leavers.
A key focus of education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. A sum of €540 million is being provided by my Department in 2004 for programmes specifically designed to tackle educational disadvantage. This direct expenditure on educational disadvantage represents an increase of over €80 million on the 2003 provision and nearly 8.5% of the net education budget for 2004. The approach for education set out in the national action plan is based on a continuum of provision, from early childhood through adulthood, with the focus on preventive strategies, targeting and integrated community responses.
My Department is finalising an overall review of its educational disadvantage programmes, with a view to building on what has been achieved to date, adopting a more systematic, targeted and integrated approach and strengthening the capacity of the system to meet the educational needs of disadvantaged children and young people.
Significant improvements have been made in the pupil-teacher ratio at primary level in recent years. The ratio has fallen from 22.2:1 in the 1996-97 school year to 17.44:1 in the 2003-04 school year. Arising from these improvements, class sizes have reduced in the same period. The overall maximum class size in primary schools by reference to the staffing schedule has been reduced from 35 to 29.
In line with the commitment in the programme for Government, class sizes will be reduced still further. This, however, can be done only on a phased basis having regard to the available resources and subject to spending priorities within the education sector. The timing and manner in which the target set out in the programme for Government can be met is being examined by my Department in consultation with the education partners. My priority as Minister for Education and Science will be to continue targeting resources at those areas and people most in need.
In terms of prioritising spending from this very welcome additional investment, will the Minister agree that the circulars stating the number of hours to be allocated to children with special educational needs, as opposed to what is recommended in private assessments, is very much resource driven and that if the needs of children were taken into consideration and further funding provided, such circulars would not be necessary? Will the Minister acknowledge that this is an area that could be examined with a view to providing additional hours of speech therapy to certain children? Another area that could be examined is that of early learning support and child care because children are helped if they are involved and given socialisation skills.
Will the Minister also acknowledge that given that surveys show that there is high unemployment among graduates of a number of teacher training colleges, it would be preferable, rather than increasing the number of SNA's in some instances, to employ more teachers and reduce the pupil-teacher ratio?
It is important to be clear as to functions of special needs assistants. The circular states that these are for children with significant physical and medical needs or whose behaviour is likely to be such as to cause them to be a danger to themselves or to others. That there are now 6,000 such children in our system is a tribute to the educational system, to the parents who were able to have them integrated and particularly to the teachers who welcome them into their classes with the other children.
I do not understand the Deputy's reference to circulars for individual children. If there is one area that is very much child focused it is special needs where individual assessments are examined and the level of need is determined.
There is a limited number of hours.
That is why it has grown so substantially over recent years. The Deputy referred to early learning support. We are all agreed on the importance of early intervention for all children, whether they are early learners, children with special needs or children from disadvantaged areas. A cross-departmental high level group is examining the early childhood area to ensure we do not end up putting money into capital for child care and ignoring the developmental and educational aspects. I believe that is the way forward in that area.
The Minister indicated that this is child focused. Can I deduce from that that the weighted system will not be introduced, as suggested by the former Minister, Deputy Noel Dempsey? Is there a timeframe for full implementation of the Education for Children with Special Needs Act?
Regarding special needs assistants, will the Minister review the situation where certain children who have been granted special needs assistants until lunch time are in class until 3 p.m. and have no special needs assistant during the afternoon?
Two days after the last occasion on which I answered questions here, when I gave a commitment that I would deal with this issue speedily, I announced an extra 295 posts, which cater for nearly 500 children. For many of those children, the length of time during which assistants were available was extended and those hours were spread out. Children do not necessarily need somebody with them all the time while at school. Child psychologists indicate it is very important that children do not develop a total dependency on having somebody with them. That is why it is important to examine the needs of the child regarding special needs assistance and that is why the special needs organisers under the special education council are working with schools, services and parents locally to see what is in the best interests of the child.
Regarding resource teaching hours, at the time I announced the 295 extra posts I also announced that I am reviewing that whole system. It is a very good principle that the resources should be in place before the child comes into the school. That is a valuable way to proceed. However, it came to my attention that small and rural schools in particular would lose out and that children who were in need of a service might not be able to get it. That is why I am reviewing the system previously announced.
Is there a timeframe for implementation of the legislation?
We are examining the matter to see how we can progress implementation of the legislation. That deals with individual education plans so it is very much child focused.
