Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 March 2013
111. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to recategorise Down's syndrome as a low incidence disability to enable children with Down's syndrome to be entitled to resources in mainstream education to ensure they reach their full potential; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15863/13]
View answer118. Deputy Willie Penrose asked the Minister for Education and Skills the reason a child, who has Down's syndrome, does not qualify for a special needs assistant in school, and therefore does not qualify for the necessary supports to enable the child to fully participate in the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15959/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 111 and 118 together.
The Deputy will be aware of this Government's ongoing commitment to ensuring that all children with special educational needs, including those with Down syndrome, can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. The policy of my Department is to secure the maximum possible level of inclusion of students with special educational needs in mainstream primary and post-primary schools, or where a special school or special class placement may be required, to ensure such placements are provided for.
I wish to advise that pupils with Down syndrome who have care needs may receive access to Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocates a quantum of SNA support for each school annually taking into account the care needs of all of the qualifying children enrolled in the school, and on the basis of the assessed care needs of the children, rather than solely by reference to a pupil's disability categorisation. However, many children with Down syndrome currently do have access to SNA support.
In relation to the provision of additional teaching supports, pupils with Down syndrome attending mainstream schools may receive additional teaching support in primary schools, either under the terms of the General Allocation Model (GAM) of teaching supports, if the pupil's educational psychological assessment places the pupil in the mild general learning disability/high incidence disability category, or through an allocation of individual additional resource teaching hours which are allocated by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), if the child is assessed as being within the low incidence category of special need, as defined by my Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05.
I have asked the National Council for Special Education to provide me with policy advice on the issue of whether Down syndrome should be reclassified as a low incidence disability in all instances, regardless of assessed cognitive ability. This advice will be included in the NCSE's comprehensive policy advice on how the education system can best support children with special educational needs which is currently in preparation and which is expected in the coming months.
