Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 2 December 2004
220 Mr. Stanton asked the Minister for Education and Science if a person (details supplied) in Dublin 9 will be given the same level of support and assistance in school that was received up to June 2004; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31923/04]
View answerEvery effort is made to ensure that children with special educational needs, SENs, 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.
The Deputy may be aware that I propose to introduce a new system of allocation of resource teacher support for pupils with SEN who, like the pupil in question, fall within the high-incidence disability categories. It would be expected that the needs of the pupil in question could be met from within the current resource-learning support teaching allocation available to the school. Currently, the school has a staffing level of two learning support and four resource teachers. However, I am conscious of difficulties that could arise in relation to the proposed new model, particularly for children in small and rural schools, if it were implemented as currently proposed. 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 currently in receipt of service continue to receive the level of support 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.
