Finian McGrath
Question:403 Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of disabled children in mainstream primary and secondary schools. [19358/12]
View answerWednesday, 18 April 2012
Questions (402)
Written answers
I wish to advise the Deputy that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for processing applications from schools for special educational needs supports. The NCSE has published statistics in relation to resource allocations as at August 2010 on its website www.ncse.ie. In respect of resource allocations for pupils with Physical Disabilities enrolled to mainstream schools, 4,151 pupils with physical disabilities were allocated additional teaching support and 2,042 pupils were allocated access to Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support at that time. The NCSE notes that these figures cannot be added as many pupils who receive additional resource teaching support are also in receipt of SNA support. It should also be noted that some children with physical disabilities may also be included under the category of multiple disabilities. There are also categories for children with visual impairments and hearing impairment. In relation to the number of pupils with intellectual disability who are enrolled to mainstream schools, I wish to advise the Deputy that all mainstream primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources under the General Allocation Model (GAM) to cater for children with high incidence special educational needs, including mild and borderline mild general learning difficulties. It is a matter for school authorities to determine how these hours are utilised to support eligible pupils. My Department therefore does not hold details of the number of pupils being supported through this mechanism. It is therefore not possible to identify the total numbers of pupils enrolled in mainstream schools who have some form of intellectual disability.
I can advise the Deputy that the NCSE developed estimates on the prevalence of special educational needs as part of its process to advise the Minister on the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN), Act 2004. The Council estimated at that time that up to 18% of the school going population may have a special educational need, as defined under the EPSEN Act, while a more recent NCSE Report: A Study of the Prevalence of Special Educational Needs (2011) estimates that this figure may be even higher that 18% of the pupil population.
Question No. 404 answered with Question No. 333.