Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 6 May 2015
483. Deputy Regina Doherty asked the Minister for Education and Skills if she will provide, in tabular form, the number of resource teachers in both primary and post-primary schools, each year for the past five years; the number of pupils in receipt of resource hours each year for the past five years; the average period of time each pupil receives; and the annual cost of resource hours for the past five years. [17555/15]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that this Government has significantly increased the overall number of resource teaching posts available to schools in recent years.
Some 480 additional resource teaching posts were provided for the 2014/15 school year and an additional 480 posts have been made available for the 2015/16 year, in order to meet growing demand from schools for low incidence special educational needs support.
The total number of resource teaching posts available for allocation to the end of 2015 is 6,705, which is more than at any time previously.
These increases, building on increases which have already been provided in recent years, have ensured that we now have more special needs support teachers in our schools than ever before, and will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs. It will also ensure that where particular demand arises, due to demographic growth or to increased need, that this demand will continue to be met.
The specific information requested by the Deputy is provided in the table.
In relation to the average period of time each pupil receives, please note that additional teaching resources are allocated to schools for the support of individual pupils with low incidence special educational needs. The various categories of low incidence disability are listed in DES Circular 02/05.
Such additional allocations of resource teaching hours for pupils who have been assessed with low incidence special educational needs, however, are not made directly to individual pupils, but are made to schools to support such children.
Once the hours are allocated to schools, it is a matter for the school to manage and utilise these hours to support the pupils concerned, in line with DES guidance as set out in Circular 02/05. Some of the time may be used for team teaching, to provide additional support in the classroom for that pupil, or through additional teaching in small groups. As such, the time allocated to individual pupils is managed by schools.
|
Resource Teaching |
2010/11 school year |
2011/12 school year |
2012/13 school year |
2013/14 school year |
2014/15 school year |
|
Primary RT posts |
2952 |
3150 |
3062 |
3304 |
3558 |
|
Post Primary RT posts |
2223 |
2115 |
2203 |
2417 |
2645 |
|
Total posts |
5,175 |
5,265 |
5,265 |
5,721 |
6,203 |
|
Est. Salary Costs |
€310.5m |
€316m |
€316m |
€343m |
€372m |
|
No of pupils Primary |
*18,522 |
20,138 |
22,271 |
24,000 |
25,904 |
|
No of pupils Post Primary |
*8,419 |
9228 |
10,209 |
11,586 |
12,891 |
|
Total pupils |
*26,941 |
29,366 |
32,480 |
35,586 |
38,795 |
* Estimated figures
