25 Oct 2016, 17:02
26 October 2016
The Joint Committee on Education and Skills will tomorrow meet with officials from the Department of Education and Skills and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). The Officials will brief the Committee on the pilot phase and the proposed roll out of the new allocation model for teaching resources to schools, for students with special needs. The Committee will also consider the recently published Policy Advice by the NCSE on supporting Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in Schools.
The meeting will commence at 9.00 am in Committee Room 1 tomorrow, Thursday, 27 October 2016.
Committee Chairperson, Fiona O’Loughlin TD, said “Tomorrow’s meeting provides an excellent opportunity for us to hear from Department officials and the NCSE regarding the plans to roll out nationally the proposed new model of allocating teaching resources for children with special educational needs. We will hear about how effective the pilot phase of the model has been, which took into account the learning experiences of schools, principals, pupils and the views of parents.\"
“On the issue of supporting children with autism in the Irish education system, we look forward to hearing from the NCSE on their recently published Policy Advice. The Advice recognises that students with autism are largely well supported but also raises concerns about key issues such as the need for enhanced early intervention supports and specialist teacher training. We look forward to hearing from both the NCSE and the Department in this regard.”
Committee proceedings can be viewed live here.
The meeting will be broadcast live on Oireachtas TV; Saorview Channel 22; Virgin Media Channel 207; Sky Channel 574; eir Vision Channel 504 and Vodafone Channel 201.
Committee proceedings can also be viewed on the move, through the Houses of the Oireachtas Smartphone App, available for Apple and Android devices.
Ends