Finian McGrath
Question:101. Deputy Finian McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding providing resource hours for children with Down's syndrome in mainstream schools. [9352/14]
View answerTuesday, 25 February 2014
Questions (101)
Oral answers (6 contributions)
I ask the Minister to outline the position regarding providing resource hours for children with Down's syndrome in mainstream schools. Every year between 80 and 120 babies with Down's syndrome are born in the State. At the moment approximately 200 children with Down's syndrome in national schools have no resource hours. Can we put this right? I introduced legislation recently and my objective is to ensure that all children with Down's syndrome are given adequate resource hours.
The matters raised by the Deputy are currently the subject of High Court proceedings against the Department. I am therefore somewhat constrained in what I can say in response to this question.
The NCSE report on supporting children with special educational needs recommended that under a proposed new allocation model, all children, including those with Down's syndrome, should be allocated additional resources in line with their level of need, rather than by disability category.
The NCSE also recommended that, in the short term, pupils with Down's syndrome in the mild general learning disability category should continue to be supported by schools' learning support allocation in the same way as other pupils with a mild GLD. The NCSE working group charged with developing proposals for the new allocation model will bring its report to me before the end of the spring and any changes to the current allocation model will be considered in the light of the recommendations of that group.
The Government did not oppose the Deputy's Private Members' Down Syndrome (Equality of Access) Bill 2013 on Second Stage. This Bill has now been referred to the Oireachtas Joint Committee on Education and Social Protection for further consideration.
I welcome the Minister's response. I also thank him and the Minister of State, Deputy Sherlock, who was present on the day, for not opposing my Down Syndrome (Equality of Access) Bill, which is relevant to this debate. I take the Minister's point about the legal case.
My objective is that all children with Down's syndrome and low-incidence disability are given the proper resource teaching hours. Children with Down's syndrome should be guaranteed to receive the maximum level of resource hours. Children with a physical disability get resource teaching time of at least two hours 33 minutes and up to four hours 15 minutes for children with autism. All young children with Down's syndrome going into national school should get the maximum resource hours because they can do a lot of work with them and achieve many changes which are very positive for their futures.
I have an additional note that might be of assistance to the Deputy. The NCSE was asked to provide 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. As part of the NCSE's comprehensive policy advice on how the education system can best support children with special educational needs, it recommended that under the new allocation model proposed by the NCSE, children should be allocated additional resources in line with their level of need, rather than by disability category. This is a policy shift.
The NCSE recommended that in the short-term, pupils with Down's syndrome, who are also in the mild general learning disability category, should continue to be supported by schools' learning support allocation in the same way as other pupils with a mild GLD. The NCSE established a working group to develop a proposal for consideration of a new tailored allocation model, which is set out as one of the principal recommendations of the report. I understand I will have that report in about six to eight weeks.
There is an ongoing debate about mild learning disability. However, many families with children with Down's syndrome are in that category. They feel they are being penalised because some of these children are very good academically and are moving on. We can move them up to another level. The Minister will have seen the results in the case of families who put in the extra resources themselves and got their children up to junior certificate and leaving certificate level. Some are doing courses at third level, including a group of them in Trinity College, with which the parents are delighted. That is what educational inclusion is all about.
We need to get the maximum educational value for these students to enable them to develop to their maximum potential. That is all I am seeking. It is as simple as that.
I heard what the Deputy said and I can readily identity with the satisfaction parents and young students have of maximising their potential in the way the Deputy has described. We should have a debate on this when we get the NCSE's report because it covers more than just the Down's syndrome category.