Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 13 May 2020
256. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the extent to which appropriate and sufficient assistance of the request nature has been made available and continues to be made available in the case of persons (details supplied); and if he will make a statement on the matter. [4894/20]
View answerMy Department's practice has been to respond to the needs of long term or repeat child in-patients in hospitals and HSE Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) facilities through the establishment of special schools or through the funding of part-time teaching hours.
The purpose of educational provision in HSE CAMHS Units is a short term intervention designed to provide for some continuity of education during the child/young person’s stay as an in-patient and to help support their re-integration based into their base school.
Continuation of a young person’s education is considered paramount to their ongoing development and this is facilitated by on-site schools, offering education programmes which run concurrent to the therapeutic engagement of the young person. Since almost all of the young people who attend CAMHS units are aged between twelve and eighteen years, the predominant educational need is for the post-primary curriculum. While the student cohort primarily have psychiatric or mental health difficulties they are capable, when medically fit to do so, of following the mainstream post-primary curriculum.
Not all children/young people attending CAMHS are medically fit to avail of education during all of their stay.
My Department’s policy is to provide teaching staff in CAMHS facilities at a pupil teacher ratio of 6:1 on the basis of the number of inpatient beds in each CAMHS unit. The facility referred to by the deputy has one such special school. Referrals to the school are a matter for each CAMHS unit.
Current policy does not provide for an additional teaching allocation for CAMHS facilities for children/young people attending as day or out-patients, as young people attending CAMHs as day patients can apply for Home Tuition support to provide for compensatory education in respect of time missed from school, due to medical reasons or attendance at a medical unit.
As not all inpatient beds in CAMHS Units may be filled at any given time, in such instances, subject to prior approval by my Department, CAMHS Units may utilise spare teaching capacity from their allocated 6:1 ratio to offer guidance or support for children/young people attending CAMHS facilities as day patients, and to assist in maintaining some continuity of education from their base school or liaison with their base school on days that they attend the CAMHS Unit.
As my Department does not retain information on individual young people who attend or are in-patients in CAMHS Units under the remit of the HSE, my Department is not aware of the issues relating to the individual referred to by the Deputy.
