Vol. 435 No. 9
260 Mr. J. Bruton asked the Minister for Education the primary schools in County Meath who have applied for a resource teacher; the schools in the county that already have such a facility; and the criteria to be employed in deciding which schools in County Meath will qualify for a resource teacher.
The role of the resource teacher is to act in support of ordinary teaching staff in dealing with handicapped children attending ordinary classes.
The resource teacher model is a recent innovation and is used, in particular circumstances, as an alternative to the visiting teacher service which is also targeted on supporting handicapped children in ordinary schools.
Decisions regarding the nature of support services provided in individual situations are driven by the numbers of children involved and the nature of their particular disability.
