Dáil Éireann Debate, Friday - 16 September 2016
415. Deputy Catherine Martin asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the pilot programme commenced by his predecessor on the implementation of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE document, delivery for students with special educational needs; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25125/16]
View answerI wish to advise the Deputy that my Department implemented a pilot of the proposed new Resource Teacher allocation model over the 2015/2016 school year.
A review of this pilot has been completed and a report of the review is currently being finalised.
I understand that the review will indicate that the new model has been positively received by schools and parents.
Throughout the pilot my Department gathered information from the participating schools. This information was gathered using surveys, information and training days, self-reflective questionnaires and a formal review undertaken by my Department's Inspectorate.
Through these processes, schools indicated that they welcomed the increased flexibility and autonomy provided by the model to allocate resources based on need. Most schools believe the model allows more scope for team teaching, targeted interventions, mix of in-class and group work, with less focus on withdrawal and one to one teaching. Schools welcome the move away from the unnecessary labelling of children in order to secure resources. Schools also welcomed that they no longer need to wait for diagnosis and that this facilitates intervention at an earlier stage based on the school's identification of need.
In addition schools indicated a belief that they were broadly well supported in meeting the needs of children with Special Educational Needs.
When the full review has been finalised, I will consider its findings and will then consider the next steps for the new model including the timeframe for its introduction.
