On 18th January last, I announced that a new model for allocating Special Education Teaching Resources to mainstream primary and post primary schools will be introduced from September 2017.
The basic aim of this new model is to deliver better outcomes for children with special educational needs. Large amounts of research, analysis, consultation with service users and stakeholders, and piloting have gone in to the development of this model and all the evidence points to the fact that this new system will deliver better outcomes for children.
No school will lose supports as a result of the implementation of the new model. In addition, no school will receive an allocation, for the support of pupils with complex needs, less than the allocation they received to support such pupils during the 2016/17 school year. No allocation made for such pupils by the NCSE will be removed from schools as long as that pupil remains in the school.
I also announced that an additional 900 teaching posts will be provided to support the introduction of this new allocation model. The provision of an additional 900 teaching posts is a very significant investment in the provision of additional teaching support for pupils with special educational needs in our schools. This is additional to an increase of 41% in the number of resource teachers allocated to schools annually by the NCSE since 2011, when 5265 teachers were allocated, as opposed to provision for 7452 posts in the current school year.
The additional funding will provide additional supports to over 1000 schools who are identified as needing additional supports as a result of the new model. Supports for children with special educational needs is a huge priority for this Government. We currently spend €1.5billion, or one fifth of the total education budget, on supports for children with special educational needs.
I wish to advise the Deputy that a new Circular will be issued to schools in the coming weeks which will provide details for schools as to the way in which allocations of resource and learning support teaching will be allocated for the 2017/2018 school term. Details of the allocations for each school will also be provided to schools.
Schools will also be provided with Guidance on how to manage and deploy their resources under the new allocation model, in order to ensure that they can provide additional teaching support for all pupils who need support in their school, taking into account their individual learning needs.
In addition my officials and officials from the National Council for Special Education have engaged extensively with school management bodies, teacher and parent representative bodies and school principals to provide information on the model and how it will apply within all schools from September 2017. Over the coming weeks my officials will host a number of regional seminars which will provide information directly to principals and school leaders on the new model and on the guidance materials which will be made available.
The Deputy will also be aware that my Department implemented a pilot of the proposed new Resource Teacher allocation model over the course of the 2015/2016 school year.
A review of this pilot has been completed and has been published on my Departments website www.education.ie.
The review has indicated that the new model has been positively received by schools and parents.
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 schools 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.
