I propose to take Questions Nos. 134, 136, 137, 150 and 151 together.
The Deputy will be aware of this Government's ongoing commitment to ensuring that all children with special educational needs, including children with Down's 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.
Pupils with Down's 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.
It should be noted that the introduction of the GAM in 2005 did not change the position in relation to the allocation of supports for children with Down's syndrome who had mild general learning difficulty. Prior to the GAM introduction, Circular 08/02 set out that the level of additional support to be provided for children who present with a particular syndrome e.g. Down's Syndrome, will be determined following consideration of psychological or other specialist reports which details the nature and degree of the child's special educational needs. The allocations made were differentiated on the basis of the extent of general learning difficulty of the child.
Pupils with Down's syndrome may be allocated resources under the category of mild general learning disability, or under the categories of moderate general learning difficulty or Assessed Syndrome, in conjunction with another Low Incidence disability. There is not presently a distinct disability category of Down's syndrome for resource allocation purposes. As such, it is not possible to advise of the number of children with Down's syndrome who are attending mainstream primary education.
I have asked the National Council for Special Education to provide me with policy advice on the issue of whether Down's 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 shortly.
