I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and I would like to advise that my department officials have raised the matter with the NCSE who have provided the following response.
The NCSE co-ordinates, develops, and delivers a broad range of professional development seminars for teachers and principals working with students with special educational needs in primary and post-primary schools, as well as special classes and special schools. The NCSE calendar of teacher professional training seminars will be published in the coming weeks. These seminars are scheduled to be delivered in online or in-person formats. This includes seminars specifically developed for teachers working in autism classes, some of which will be delivered in collaboration with the Middletown Centre for Autism.
In addition to the NCSE programme of seminars and online resources, schools may apply directly to the NCSE to build their capacity to support autistic students in our schools through professional learning for whole staff, groups, and individual teachers where required. Schools can access this support by making a request through NCSE School Support Portal. Support is tailored to the specific professional learning needs within a school.
Once a school makes a request, all applications for in-school support are automatically assigned to the local team manager. Applications for support regarding autism are assigned to an appropriate Advisor. The NCSE endeavour to respond to all applications for support as expediently as possible. The timeframes for providing support may vary depending on the school context, the nature of the information supplied, or the availability of specialist Advisors.
SNAs
At the request of the Department of Education, the NCSE tendered for a national training programme for SNAs, which has been delivered by UCD since 2021. In total, the programme will provide training for 3,500 SNAs over a four year period. There are five modules available in the programme, including a module on Autism. The programme is fully funded by the Department of Education and delivered at no cost to the participant.
Picture Exchange Communication Systems (PECS)
Schools can apply to the NCSE for funding to attend approved teacher professional development courses. This includes access to courses to train teachers in the use of Picture Exchange Communication Systems, also known as PECS, to respond to the communication needs of students, including autistic students, where recommended. Applications for funding are made through the NCSE School Support Portal. Applications are open to schools throughout the year and are processed on the basis that teachers receiving funding have students who would benefit.
