I propose to take Questions Nos. 98 and 99 together.
I wish to advise the Deputy that all schools have been allocated additional teaching resources to cater for children with high incidence special educational needs, including Specific Learning Disability (SLD), of which dyslexia and dyscalculia are such Specific Learning Disability's.
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 SLDs. It is a matter for individual schools to use their professional judgement to identify pupils who will receive this support and to use the resources available to the school to intervene at the appropriate level with such pupils. Schools are supported in this regard by the National Educational Psychological Services.
All Post Primary schools have also been allocated additional teaching resources for pupils with high incidence special educational needs, including SLDs. As the allocation of support for pupils with SLDs is managed locally by schools, my Department does not hold details of the number of students with dyslexia and dyscalculia receiving support locally, as schools are not required to apply directly to my Department for learning support for Specific Learning Disabilities such as dyslexia and dyscalculia.
I can advise, however, that the recently published National Council for Special Education (NCSE) report on Supporting Students Special Educational Needs in Schools sets out that 0.5% of the student population in Ireland is estimated to have a SLD.
I can also advise that my Department provides guidelines for schools in relation to the utilisation of additional teaching resources which have been allocated to them for pupils with high incidence special educational needs. These include Circular SpEd 02/05, Inclusion of Pupils with Special Educational Needs Post Primary Guidelines and the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) Continuum of Support Guidelines.
My Department provides funding for a number of special schools and special classes attached to mainstream primary schools which have been sanctioned to meet the needs of children with SLDs. There are 4 Special Schools and approximately 16 Special Classes attached to mainstream Primary schools catering for pupils with SLD.
Further resources are also provided to schools to support pupils with SLDs. Funding is provided for the purchase of specialised equipment such as computers and/or software to assist children with special educational needs, including children with SLDs, once relevant professionals recommend the equipment as being essential for the provision of education. Schools can apply to the local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) directly for this support.
An information resource pack on dyslexia in CD-Rom, DVD and video format, has been developed by my Department in association with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. This product has been made available to all primary and post-primary schools. The DVD and video provides support for parents of pupils with dyslexia while the CD-Rom assists teachers who are teaching children with dyslexia in the mainstream classroom.
Finally, I wish to explain that initial teacher education programmes address specific teacher training elements including literacy and numeracy, differentiation and Inclusive Education including Special Education. Additional support is provided for teachers with additional training needs in the area of dyslexia and dyscalculia by the Special Education Support Service (SESS). The SESS manages, co-ordinates and develops a range of supports in response to identified teacher training needs and aims to provide direct support to schools and individual teachers in as flexible a way as possible. The SESS provides fees' subsidies for online training courses in the area of Dyslexia as well as support for in-school seminars and attendance at relevant conferences and seminars. Supports in the area of Dyscalculia usually encompass support in the broader area of numeracy, assessment, mathematics and special educational needs rather than specifically in the area of dyscalculia.
