Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 28 May 2013
85. Deputy Mick Wallace asked the Minister for Education and Skills the action he plans to take in relation to the recommendations of the recently published report by the National Council for Special Education entitled Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools; if he will provide a timeframe for this action; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25510/13]
View answer91. Deputy Seán Crowe asked the Minister for Education and Skills if he will implement one of the key recommendations contained in the National Council for Special Education report, Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, that the link between allocation based on category of disability should be changed to one of allocation based on need. [25395/13]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 85 and 91 together.
Last year, I requested the NCSE to review and make recommendations on the supports that we provide to children with special educational needs and how they are allocated, to ensure we are delivering the best possible educational experience and outcomes for our children. The NCSE has published its policy advice on Support Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, which is available on its website, www.ncse.ie. The NCSE report makes it clear that parents and schools are very happy with many aspects of the current system. However, the NCSE also considers that there are concerns in relation to some aspects of our current system, under the headings of Enrolment, Assessments and Supports for children with Special Educational Needs and their allocation. The report makes 28 detailed recommendations which the NCSE feels would help to address these issues.
The recommendations in the report are interesting and significant. They deserve indepth and detailed examination and exploration. That is why I have asked my Department to carefully review the recommendations and report back to me on them. The report recommends that under the new resource allocation model proposed by the NCSE in its report, children should be allocated additional resources in line with their level of need, rather than by disability category. I have requested the NCSE to immediately proceed to establish a Working Group in order to develop a proposal for consideration for a new Tailored Allocation Model, which is set out as one of the principal recommendations of the report. This proposal will then be considered by my Department. I am conscious that in making any changes to our supports for children with Special Educational Needs, we need to protect the gains we have made. Therefore, I would like to give an assurance that consultation will be a key aspect in the implementation of any of these recommendations.
