Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 17 May 2017
126. Deputy Gerry Adams asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of psychological assessments which have been undertaken by the NEPS service in County Louth in each of the years from 2012 to 2016, inclusive, and to date in 2017. [23427/17]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases receive assessment services through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Under this scheme schools can have a student assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly.
In common with many other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS has adopted a consultative model of service. The focus is on empowering teachers to intervene effectively with pupils whose needs range from mild to severe and transient to enduring. Psychologists use a problem solving and solution focused consultative approach to maximize positive outcomes for these pupils. NEPS encourages schools to use a continuum based assessment and intervention process whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention for pupils with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Teachers may consult their NEPS psychologist should they need to at this stage in the process. Only in the event of a failure to make reasonable progress, in spite of the school's best efforts in consultation with NEPS, will the psychologist become involved with an individual child for intensive intervention or assessment. This system allows psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually. It also ensures that children are not referred unnecessarily for psychological intervention.
I attach for the Deputy’s information a count by calendar year of the number of individual pupils referred to NEPS psychologists in schools in Co. Louth. Statistics for 2016 are incomplete as cases undertaken in the 2016/17 academic may not be informed to the NEPS Casetrack database until next summer. The count in 2017 represents referral put on that database to date and are also incomplete.
NEPS psychologists in addition to support of individual pupils outlined in the above referral process provide a range of systemic support and development services to schools including teacher training, organisational / process development and advice, and direct assistance where requested, in the event of a critical incident effecting the school community.
Number by Year of Student Referrals undertaken by NEPS psychologists in Co. Louth
|
Calendar Year |
2012 |
2013 |
2014 |
2015 |
2016 (**) |
2017(*) |
|
Number |
201 |
248 |
182 |
235 |
147 |
30 |
(*) Year to date and incomplete as yet (see note below)
(**) Not complete as some cases are informed to the Casetrack database over the summer months following the academic year 2016/17
