Vol. 537 No. 5
588 Mr. Deasy asked the Minister for Education and Science if a survey has been carried out in primary schools to determine the special needs requirements in each school; if this includes children with dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and if he will give details of the scheme. [17148/01]
In October 1998 the Government decided that all children with special needs in primary schools, including children in the categories to which the Deputy refers, should have an automatic entitlement to a response to their needs irrespective of their level of need or location.
Early in 1999 my Department issued a circular to all primary schools informing them of the above development. The circular advised schools of the levels of support available in respect of children in each disability category and the procedures to be followed by schools wishing to access such support.
Arising from this development, the number of resource teachers allocated to primary schools to support special needs children in integrated settings has grown from 104 to more than 950. The number of special needs assistants deployed across the primary system has grown from less than 300 to more than 2000 over the same period. These developments have provided a significant body of data on the nature and level of special needs in primary schools. Further resource teacher and special needs assistant support is being deployed on an ongoing basis in response to identified needs.
My Department has also commenced work on the development of the primary pupil data base. One of the objectives of this work will be to facilitate a more effective system of identification of children with special needs, including children in the categories to which the Deputy refers.
