Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 5 December 2017
178. Deputy Maria Bailey asked the Minister for Education and Skills the number of assessments completed under the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments for the academic year 2016-2017 for which certification of completion of assessment forms have been submitted by school principals between 6 September 2016 and 30 September 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [51512/17]
View answerI can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools. This involves direct support in the event of a critical incident, access to national and regional support and development work to build school capacity to support students, access to a NEPS psychologist for responses to queries arising, and access to individual pupil casework via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).
I can confirm, in answer to the Deputy's question, that some 2,520 assessments were commissioned under SCPA using the panel of private practitioners maintained by NEPS and certified by school principals in the period concerned.
