Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 July 2016
166. Deputy Thomas Byrne asked the Minister for Education and Skills if his Department has undertaken any review of the effectiveness of the simplified allocation process for both learning and language support introduced by his predecessor in 2012-2013; and the cost of restoring temporary English as an additional language posts to pre-2012 levels. [23206/16]
View answerReforms introduced in the 2012/13 school year created a single simplified allocation process for both learning and language support. At primary level, learning/language support hours are allocated on the basis of mainstream classroom teaching posts in the school. At post-primary level, learning/language support is allocated on the basis of pupil numbers. Schools have autonomy to deploy this resource between learning support and language support depending on the specific needs of the school.
The revised arrangements also provided for additional permanent teaching posts to be given to schools with high concentration of pupils that require language support. Further additional temporary language support posts are provided on the basis of appeals to the Staffing Appeal Boards. The appeal criteria are set out in the published staffing arrangements. My Department does not have comparative figures on the cost of temporary EAL allocations before and after 2012.
The Deputy will be aware that the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a statutory role under the Education of Persons with Special Educational Needs Act to provide me with policy advice in relation to matters concerning the education of persons with special educational needs.
The NCSE published policy advice in 2013 which identified that the current model for allocating resource teachers to schools is potentially inequitable and recommended the development of a new allocation model. In developing its policy advice the NCSE consulted widely with education partners, representatives from the school sector, parents, and disability representative bodies.
The NCSE recommended that a new model be developed based on the profiled needs of each school, including consideration of Standardised Test performances in schools, and a schools social context, rather than primarily on school size and the diagnosed disability of individual children. It is intended that this new model will reduce the inequities in the current system, and also ensure that we are not unnecessarily labelling children from a young age in order to access resources.
Although there was widespread support for the implementation of the new model, there was not time to address all of the issues in relation to the proposed new model in time to allow for it to be implemented this year.
A pilot of the new model, which involved 47 schools finished in June and run for the duration of the 2015/2016 school year. This pilot was developed in order to test the model in a number of schools and to allow for the practical effect of the application of the new model in pilot schools to be gauged. It also allowed us to take into account the learning experiences of schools, principals, pupils and the views of parents over the course of the pilot, prior to the full implementation of the proposed new allocation model. A review of this pilot is underway and is currently being finalised. The review will note that the new model has been positively received by schools and parents.
