My Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychological support to all primary and post-primary schools including the school in question. 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 where there is need via a NEPS psychologist or through the Scheme for the Commissioning of Psychological Assessments (SCPA).
NEPS, in common with many other psychological services and best international practice, 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 oriented consultative approach to maximise 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 a 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. In relation to the school to which the Deputy refers, the NEPS North West/North Midlands Region (Sligo Team) provides a service to this school.
Special schools generally cater for children with the most complex needs. Accordingly, these schools have enhanced staffing levels with greatly reduced pupil: teacher and SNA staffing allocations. The provision of training and support for these schools is prioritised including access to training and post graduate programmes tailored to meeting the needs of children with complex needs. On an ongoing basis, these schools have access to the NCSE advisory support service which advises on children with the most complex needs including behavioural needs.
The Deputy may also be aware of the School Inclusion Model (SIM) which has been developed in collaboration with the Departments of Health; Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth; the NCSE and the HSE.
The NCSE is currently piloting this new model in 75 schools in the CHO 7 area. As part of this new model, NCSE teams have been enhanced to include Occupational Therapists, Speech and Language Therapists and Behaviour Practitioners to support schools build capacity to include children with special educational needs. The evaluation of this pilot will inform future policy in this area.
