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Special Educational Needs

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 15 February 2022

Tuesday, 15 February 2022

Questions (422)

Mark Ward

Question:

422. Deputy Mark Ward asked the Minister for Education the options open to the parents of a child (details supplied) who is on a waiting list for a place in two reading schools in Dublin. [7515/22]

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Written answers

Enabling children with special educational needs to receive an education is a priority for this Government.

This year, my Department will spend in excess of €2 Billion, or over 25% of the Department’s budget on providing additional teaching and care supports for children with special educational needs.

A continuum of education provision is in place covering the full range of need spanning placement in mainstream classes with supports through to more specialist placements either in a special class or a special school depending on the level of complexity of need.

Available supports include provision to meet care needs and to provide additional teaching support where this is required. In addition, there are specialist educational supports provided by the National Educational Psychological Services (NEPS) and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) to help schools provide an appropriate education for pupils with special educational needs including reading difficulties.

There are no plans to expand Reading Schools at this time.

NCSE is currently undertaking Policy Advice on Education Provision in Special Classes and Special Schools to examine whether placement in specialist settings brings about improved educational outcomes and experiences, relative to their ability, for students with special educational needs.

This Policy Advice is to be completed shortly and will then be considered by my Department.

I have also requested my Department to arrange for a review of the policy on reading classes and schools. When received, this report will also be considered in the context of planning future provision.

The Department provides for a range of placement options and supports for schools, which have enrolled pupils with special educational needs, including pupils with Specific Learning Disability (SLD); of which Dyslexia is one such SLD, in order to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, s/he will have access to an appropriate education.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), is responsible for the provision of special educational needs supports to schools.

The Department encourages parents and school authorities to engage locally regarding pupils' education. Should a parent be dissatisfied with the manner in which supports have been provided to support their child's education they should raise this matter directly with their school Principal or the Board of Management of the school. Parents may also contact their local SENO directly to discuss their child's present or future educational needs, using the contact details available on www.ncse.ie.

All Primary schools have been allocated additional teaching resources to cater for children with special educational needs, including pupils with dyslexia. Rather than having to make individual application to the NCSE for additional supports schools can now respond to individual needs in a flexible way and pupils do not have to have a psychological assessment, or a diagnosis of a disability, in order to access Special Education Teaching. This means that those with highest level of need can access the highest level of support within the school in a timely manner.

Guidelines for schools on the organisation, deployment and use of their special education teachers have been published on Gov.ie at www.gov.ie/en/publication/56c43-supporting-pupils-and-students-with-special-educational-needs-guidelines-for-schools/ Schools are supported in this regard by the National Educational Psychological Services.

Educational Psychologists from the Department’s National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) work with schools using a problem solving model to help schools identify need and interventions to support those needs. Teachers may consult their NEPS psychologist should they wish to for advice. 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 is in line with international best practice and 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 assessment and have equality of access to support prioritised on their individual needs.

NEPS understands dyslexia in the context the severity and persistence of an individual’s needs over time and their response to intervention. This approach aligns with the new Special Educational model in schools which focuses on the identification of need and the matching of specific interventions to that need. Specific interventions are therefore tailored, by the school, to the individual’s observed needs by the school, rather than being generic to a specific difficulty or disability.

It is a matter for schools to monitor and utilise their allocation of additional teaching support to best support the needs of identified pupils, in accordance with the Department's guidance. The teaching time afforded to each individual pupil is decided and managed by schools, taking into account each child's individual learning needs.

Funding is available to schools under the assistive technology scheme for the purchase of specialised equipment such as computers and/or software to assist children with special educational needs, including children with dyslexia. In order to qualify for equipment under the scheme, a child must have been diagnosed with a physical or communicative disability and must also have a recommendation in a professional assessment that the equipment is essential in order to allow the child to access the curriculum. It must also be clear that the existing I.T. equipment in the school is insufficient to meet the child's needs. Equipment may only be provided where medical and/or other professional reports outline that the degree of communicative disability is such that this equipment is essential to allow the pupil to access education and set out how the equipment will provide for this. An assessment indicating that equipment would achieve improvement in performance is not sufficient since this could be true in the case of any child.

In order for a grant for assistive technology to be made available for a pupil diagnosed with dyslexia, the pupil must have a degree of learning disability specific to basic skills in reading, writing or mathematics which places them at or below the 2nd percentile on suitable, standardised, norm-referenced tests.

Resources provided to schools also include additional training for teachers who support children with Dyslexia, through the Special Education Support Service (SESS).

The Special Education Support Service (SESS) is part of the NCSE’s Support Service, along with the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) and the Visiting Teacher Service for children who are deaf/hard of hearing and for children who are blind/visually impaired (VTSVHI).

The Support Service provides advice and support to schools on the education and inclusion of students with special educational needs, providing in-school support for teachers and continuing professional development for teachers with additional training needs in the area of Dyslexia. The Support Service continues to update current Continuing Professional Development (CPD) courses for teachers and design new CPD courses in response to the needs of teachers.

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