Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 8 October 2013
226. Deputy Jack Wall asked the Minister for Education and Skills his views on a submission (details supplied) and the actions he has taken since the meeting of 25 June 2013 regarding the issues; if he has had any or is planning any further meetings with the group or any such group; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42154/13]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that I met with representatives of the group referred to by him in his question on 25th June, 2013. At that meeting it was clarified that 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.
It was also explained that pupils with Down 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.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a formal role under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, 2004 in advising me in relation to any matter relating to the education of children and others with disabilities.
My Department requested that the NCSE consider the issue of whether Down syndrome should be reclassified as a low incidence disability in all instances, regardless of assessed cognitive ability, in the context of its preparation of comprehensive advice on how the educational system supports children with special educational needs in schools.
The NCSE report on Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs in Schools has now been published and is available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie. 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.
The NCSE has recommended that in the short-term, pupils with Down syndrome pupils who are in the Mild General Learning Difficulty (Mild GLD) category should continue to be supported by schools' Learning Support allocation in the same way as other pupils with a Mild GLD.
The NCSE policy advice did not recommend that an exception should be made for children with Down syndrome who are in the mild general learning difficulty range, over other children who are in the mild range and who also may have other co-morbid conditions.
However, the NCSE report states that it is confident that the introduction of a new allocation model will overcome the difficulty posed by all children with mild general learning disabilities, including children with Down Syndrome, who have additional difficulties and who can be supported according to their level of need and in line with their learning plan process. In the meantime, schools are reminded that they can differentiate the level of learning support granted to ensure that available resources are used to support children in line with their needs.
The NCSE has established a Working Group 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.
Following our meeting of 25th June, 2013, I wrote to the group concerned on 29th July, 2013 to set out my Departments position in this regard and to reiterate that the NCSE considers that the concerns raised in relation to this issue can be addressed via the development of a new allocation model which will take into account children's individual learning needs, as opposed to diagnosis.
