Vol. 553 No. 2
379 Mr. S. Ryan asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding access to a SLD class in Holy Family national school, Swords, County Dublin for a person (details supplied); and if he will make a statement as to the way in which this person can continue their education without such a class. [13690/02]
The school referred to by the Deputy currently has two special classes for pupils with specific learning disability.
A senior member of my Department's inspectorate is currently examining the needs of the child in question. My officials will liaise with the school authorities when this examination has been completed.
The educational needs of pupils with dyslexia of primary school age are generally capable of being met within the mainstream school system with the support, where necessary, of the learning support teacher service or the resource teacher service. There are currently 1,485 learning support teachers and in excess of 1,700 full-time equivalent resource teachers in place in the primary system.
For some children, the severity of the condition can be such as to require placement in a special school or a special class attached to an ordinary school. At present, there are four special schools and 21 special classes dedicated to children with dyslexia. Funding is also provided to meet any special equipment needs of the children in question.
My predecessor recently announced a number of important new measures to enhance the education of children with dyslexia following recommendations of the task force on dyslexia. These include the introduction of the first ever on-line training for teachers catering for pupils with dyslexia; the appointment of ten new learning support trainers; and the reduction in the pupil teacher ratio in special classes for dyslexia from 11: 1 to 9:1
The report of the task force on dyslexia is comprehensive and far reaching. I am committed to making further significant progress on the recommendations of the task force over as short a period of time as possible.
