Written Answers. - Psychological Service.
Richard Bruton
Ceist:
918
Mr. R. Bruton
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the number of psychological assessments being conducted by the national psychological service per year at present; his estimate of the total number of children who currently need to have an assessment; and the systems which are in place to ensure that appropriate support services are made available to children who have not yet been assessed.
[9405/02]
The number of full psychological assessments carried out by the National Educational Psychological Service varies considerably from year to year due to the rapid rate of expansion of the service.
The casework statistics for the school year 2000-01 are shown below. During the course of that school year, the number of NEPS psychologists working in the schools almost doubled, and is now standing at almost half the ultimate target. The number of psychologists in NEPS will again increase in the near future as a further recruitment competition is nearing completion. It is hoped to make a substantial number of appointments during this year. As I have said, therefore, the number of assessments per year is not particularly meaningful during this phase of marked expansion.
In addition to those children who receive individual psychological assessments, considerable numbers are helped indirectly by NEPS psychologists through consultations with teachers and parents, advice to schools on general issues relevant to psychology and particularly on the promotion of good mental health.
The planning group that reported in 1998 on the need for a national educational psychological service estimated that approximately 11% of children would need psychological intervention at some stage in their school career, although not all of these would need individual psychological assessments. This estimate seems to have been confirmed by a survey that was conducted in primary schools in County Monaghan during the year 2000.
During the summer of 2001, I announced the allocation of funding for a scheme for commissioning psychological assessments. This scheme is an interim measure intended to meet current urgent needs for psychological advice pending the expansion of NEPS to all schools. Its purpose is to ensure that children who may have special educational needs may be facilitated to obtain extra resources that may be necessary without undue delay. Schools that do not yet have access to the service provided by NEPS may commission psychological assessments under this scheme.
Number of individual pupils assessed by NEPS psychologists in the school year 2000-01
|
Type of assessment carried out
|
Pupils
|
|
Male
|
Female
|
Total
|
|
Full assessment
|
1,363
|
830
|
2,193
|
|
Assessment of attainments only
|
282
|
146
|
428
|
|
Other assessment
|
220
|
98
|
318
|
|
Total
|
1,865
|
1,074
|
2,939
|
NotesThe figures above do not include pupils seen by other psychologists in the educational system but outside NEPS.
These figures account for approx 99% of all pupils seen by NEPS psychologists during the year. A number of other pupils were interviewed or observed but have not been individually assessed.
