Vol. 532 No. 2
60 Mr. Belton asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on whether the time is opportune to review the posts of remedial and resource teachers in the context of a more focused approach to tackling educational disadvantage; and if he will consider providing formal ised training courses for classroom assistants. [6884/01]
While the remedial and resource teacher services can be of valuable assistance to some children suffering educational disadvantage, the services in question are not exclusively targeted on disadvantaged areas.
The remedial teacher service, which is now available in all first and second level schools with a pupil teacher ratio of 10:1 or above, is focused on the needs of children who are functioning at or below the tenth percentile on standardised tests of literacy and numeracy. Such children can present within any group of pupils and are not confined to areas of disadvantage. The resource teacher service is focused on supporting children with disabilities who are attending school on a fully integrated basis. Such children can also present in any location and support from the resource teacher service is not confined to areas of disadvantage.
Educational disadvantage can derive from a variety of factors which extend well beyond those addressed by the remedial or resource teacher service. I recently launched a major new initiative to address educational disadvantage at primary level. Schools participating in this programme, giving children an even break, are eligible to receive a range of additional supports including teacher posts and financial supports to be targeted on disadvantaged pupils. The additional supports being provided reflect the level of concentration of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds in each school invited to participate in the programme. Eligible schools were identified through an independent survey of educational disadvantage.
Almost 2,300 schools are eligible to benefit under the programme. Schools already targeted under the disadvantaged areas scheme and the breaking the cycle initiative will retain existing supports but may also be eligible for additional assistance under the new programme.
There are separate urban and rural dimensions to the programme. Urban schools with the highest concentrations of pupils at risk will be supported where necessary through staff allocations to implement a maximum class size of 20:1 in junior classes and 29:1 in senior classes. Rural schools with the highest concentrations of pupils at risk will be allocated the services of a teacher/co-ordinator who will work in clusters of four or five schools. Rural schools which could not be clustered with other similar schools will receive financial supports as an alternative to teacher/co-ordinator support.
All schools participating in the programme will also receive financial support for the delivery of targeted in-school and out of school actions. I am confident that this new initiative will have a major impact in combating educational disadvantage in our schools.
61 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the steps he has taken to ensure that vacant positions for classroom assistants are filled in view of the important role these members of staff fulfil. [6930/01]
Responsibility for filling the positions in question rests with the authorities of the individual schools involved. I understand that, apart from the general problem of securing staff which is a feature of many sectors of the economy at present, schools have not reported any particular difficulty in filling special needs assistant posts.
