Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 25 July 2023
422. Deputy Duncan Smith asked the Minister for Education to provide an update on the progress of the School Inclusion Model Pilot that is currently ongoing in primary schools which allow access to onsite professional support from occupational therapists and speech and language therapists; when these pilots will produce results; when they will be rolled out more broadly to other schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35718/23]
View answerThe School Inclusion Model (SIM) provides a systematic approach to building the capacity of school communities to meet the needs of students. The SIM model comprises two main sources of additional support for schools; a team of in-school therapists and enhanced support from NEPS.
SIM In-School Therapists work in partnership with teachers and schools with a view to creating inclusive school environments, designed to improve educational outcomes for all students. This work is carried out through a mixture of teacher professional learning, in-school coaching and modelling and the co-design and delivery of educationally relevant therapeutic interventions and strategies to promote student learning and participation.
In addition to the work of the In-School Therapists, SIM has allowed for the provision of an enhanced service from the National Educational Psychological service (NEPS) to the SIM pilot schools. This has allowed NEPS to provide an enhanced, preventative and responsive, model of service to schools to build inclusive practice to support the needs of students in the SIM pilot schools. The majority of schools who participated in the pilot (82%) reported that this enhanced allocation has resulted in more comprehensive support for individual pupils, as well as increased support and consultation for teachers.
SIM therapists have adapted many well-known therapy interventions to make them relevant to the educational context. These are SLT and OT interventions, grounded in best practice, which have been aligned with the curriculum in consultation with NCSE Advisors and partner schools. These interventions are structured to be primarily delivered by the teacher, with training, implementation support and co-delivery available to schools and teachers from their assigned in-school therapists.
To ensure that therapy supports as described have long lasting impact, the overall focus of SIM therapists is building the capacity of schools and teachers to maintain knowledge and practices gained from collaborating with therapists and other professionals in SIM. In line with the research in sustaining change in practice, SIM therapists emphasise the importance of implementation teams in schools. Schools have been encouraged to establish Inclusion Teams, with representation from teaching staff, school management, SIM therapy, NEPS psychologists, as well as other professionals linked to the school where applicable.
This year, 62 of the 75 schools have active Inclusion Teams which meet a number of times per year to agree a unique priority programme of work for the school. The impact of implementation teams and embedding interventions is evident in data gathered internally by NCSE therapy management.
The In-School Therapy Project (ISTP) re-engaged with SIM Pilot Schools in the HSE Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO) Region 7 in December 2021, following a pause in in-school therapy supports caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The NCSE have produced a summary report based on data collated over a 6 month period in 2022. This report details the impact of six months of collaboration between NCSE therapists and SIM Pilot Schools. This re-engagement has allowed for the development of a model of collaborative practice in the SIM schools between the NCSE In-School Therapists and NEPS psychologists
This collaboration is defined in terms of contacts, teacher professional learning and the co-delivery of interventions aiming to build the capacity of school staff to deliver educationally relevant interventions and strategies, which positively affect the inclusion and educational outcomes of all students.
There are reported positive outcomes in the areas of teaching confidence, changes to practice, the learning environment and student educational outcomes.
Initial data received from a sample of schools on the sustained impact of SIM in-school therapy indicates:
• Teachers continuing to use interventions they had been trained on in year 1 and 2
• Teachers in a school upskilling their colleagues on strategies learned e.g. Talktime
This preliminary longer-term data indicates that when therapists collaborate with schools in the delivery of teacher-led interventions, schools can sustain this support in the absence of the therapist. There are a number of challenges and barriers to continuing the roll-out of SIM in CH07 and expanding SIM to other areas at this time. The single biggest challenge is the availability of therapists. While the Department’s initial intention was to expand SIM to other areas, pressures relating to workforce supply has resulted in SIM being limited to one CHO area. The Department is currently exploring possible solutions in this regard.
