Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 October 2018
275. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which speech and language therapy continues to be available to pupils with a specific requirement in north County Kildare; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42507/18]
View answerSpeech and Language Therapy Services are under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Health, and the service is provided by the Health Service Executive (HSE). Questions in relation to the provision of speech and language therapy services should therefore be referred to the Department of Health and the HSE.
The Deputy will be aware, however, that I recently announced that a demonstration project to provide in-school and pre-school therapy services will be introduced for the 2018/19 school year.
The project will be managed and co-ordinated by the National Council for Special Education.
The model has been developed by the Departments of Education, Children and Youth Affairs, Health, and the Health Service Executive, and is part of the Government’s overall aim to help every child to fulfil their full potential.
The purpose of the project is to test a model of tailored therapeutic supports that allows for early intervention in terms of providing speech and language and occupational therapy within ‘educational settings’. This innovative pilot will complement existing HSE funded provision of essential therapy services.
The project is taking place in Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) 7 Region of South West Dublin, Kildare, and West Wicklow.
This region has been selected to ensure that the pre-school and in-school therapy model can be tested in both urban and rural locations and with a suitable mix of various types of schools and pre-schools.
75 schools, including a representative sample of primary, post primary, and special schools, will take part in the project.
75 Pre-school settings associated with primary schools participating in the project are being included in order to provide for therapy interventions to be made at the earliest possible time and to create linkages between pre-school and primary school provision.
In total therefore 150 settings will participate in the demonstration project.
The list of the participating schools and pre-schools, including those in Kildare, has now been published on my Departments website.
Children who require speech and language therapy services and who are not attending one of the pilot schools will continue to access services from the Health Service Executive.
Children who are attending pilot schools and who receive therapy supports from the HSE will also continue to access such services. The in-school therapy model is desigined to supplement, not to replace existing services.
The model will be that of inter professional collaboration with therapists and school staff working together to identify needs, plan interventions, and monitor progress and supporting school staff and parents to deliver indirect interventions, on a supervised basis.
It will be designed to provide for a clinical Speech and Language Therapy service delivery model of Specialist, Targeted and universal supports in line with best practice for pupils which will see them receiving supports along a continuum of provision depending on the extent or severity of needs of the child/pupil.
Considerations in relation to the extension of the service to other areas or Counties, or to extend the service nationally, will be taken following an evaluation of the existing informed pilot phase.
