Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 1 December 2004
214 Mr. Aylward asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason for the extraordinary long delay in responding to correspondence of July 2004 relating to the need for additional resource teaching and learning support needs for a school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny; and if she will make a statement regarding this correspondence. [31625/04]
View answerI can confirm that my Department received correspondence from the school in question concerning its needs for resource and learning support teaching provision. The school's special educational teaching needs will be considered in the context of the proposed new model of resource teaching allocation and my officials will soon be contacting the school to clarify the position.
I am conscious of difficulties that could arise with the model if it were implemented as proposed, particularly for children in small and rural schools. Accordingly, I will be reviewing the proposed model to ensure that it provides an automatic response for pupils with common mild learning disabilities without the need for cumbersome individual applications, while at the same time ensuring that pupils in receipt of service continue to receive the level of service appropriate to their needs. The review will involve consultation with educational interests and the national council for special education before it is implemented next year.
