Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 25 November 2004
275 Mr. Gogarty 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 meets persons that need it most in the areas of early childhood education and literacy; if plans include a new commitment to reduce class sizes in primary schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30851/04]
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 particular 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 I believe that 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. 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. Some €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 currently 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 only be done 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.
