Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 1 June 2023
193. Deputy Francis Noel Duffy asked the Minister for Education if further consideration will be given to the expansion of the north east inner city multidisciplinary teams model to include a cluster of schools (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26852/23]
View answerMy Department is committed to supporting a quality and inclusive school system that provides an equal opportunity at success for all children, including those at risk of educational disadvantage. In line with the Programme for Government, the Government is continuing to examine how the model of intervention in the north-east inner city (NEIC) could be extended to other comparative areas experiencing disadvantage.
The North East Inner City Multi-Disciplinary Team (NEIC MDT) comprises of Educational Psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) of my Department, Health Service Executive (HSE) Speech and Language Therapists, Occupational Therapists and a Psychologist. This project is an interagency collaboration between the HSE and my Department which provides a multidisciplinary team to ten NEIC primary schools. The NEIC MDT provide school staff, children and families access to on-site Speech and Language Therapy, Occupational Therapy and Psychology; it also offers psychology support to families through the HSE Psychologist on the team. The MDT provide a wraparound service including preventative work, early intervention, assessment and therapeutic intervention, to support all children, school staff and families. The MDT teams provide a needs-based school service that responds to the presenting issues for each child, their family and school.
Ongoing research, evaluation and monitoring of the Multidisciplinary Team intervention will inform further policy developments in this area, including modelling of potential expansion costs.
