Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Thursday, 8 Jun 2000

Vol. 520 No. 5

Written Answers. - Special Educational Needs.

Ivor Callely

Ceist:

163 Mr. Callely asked the Minister for Education and Science the procedures for schools to avail of an additional remedial or resource teacher particularly where the need for such support has been identified; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16225/00]

Minister for Education and Science (Dr. Woods)

The special education review committee recommended that the general criteria for establishing remedial need should relate to pupils who have been identified as being at or below the tenth percentile on standardised test in basic literacy and numeracy. The committee also recommended that the caseload of a remedial teacher catering for a single school should be 40 pupils.

Since September 1999, the remedial teacher service has been extended to all primary schools with a pupil teacher ratio of 10:1 or above. Schools with lower pupil teacher ratios may also seek remedial support from my Department where the level of their particular need warrants such a service.

Schools which can demonstrate a need for such support will be fully considered in the event of additional resources becoming available to improve existing remedial services.

Resource posts are sanctioned where a number of children with special educational needs, arising from a disability, are fully integrated into mainstream national schools where there is no other adequate supports teaching resources available to the children. The level of the children's degree of need is established following consideration of assessment reports carried out by relevant professionals.

Resource teaching posts may be sanctioned on a full-time basis, either in a single school or in a cluster of schools, providing there are sufficient children with special educational needs arising from a disability to warrant a full-time post. Alternatively, part-time hours may be sanctioned to provide support teaching for individual children where there are insufficient children with special educational needs to warrant the allocation of a full-time post. The criteria and procedure for the allocation of such posts were notified to school by means of a circular issued by my Department in 1999.