Vol. 554 No. 5
536 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science his proposals to fund as an exceptional matter the course fees for special needs assistants attending training, including those doing a home study course due to the non-availability of places in colleges of education; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [15765/02]
601 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science the position regarding the funding promised by his predecessor for course fees for special needs assistants attending training offered by a private training school pending the introduction of a national programme of in-career development; and the reason this funding has not been provided. [16245/02]
602 Mr. Ring asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason he stated in a letter to Deputy Ring (details supplied) that participation by special needs assistants on courses similar in general terms to those in the teacher training colleges and offered privately have been funded by the In-Career development Unit of his Department, when this is clearly not the case. [16246/02]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 536, 601 and 602 together.
Due to the high number of special needs assistants who have entered the system in recent years it has been a priority in my Department, in the context of the overall in-career development programme for special education, to respond to the training needs of these special needs assistants. As an initial response, and as an exceptional matter in some cases, my Department has funded a wide range of available courses for special needs assistants, including courses provided by a private training school.
Special needs assistants have an important role to play in the overall provision for children with special needs. They bring various levels of experience and training to these positions. It has been essential, therefore, for my Department to give careful attention to the development of a suitable training programme for special needs assistants. This has been done in consultation with the colleges of education and, as part of this process, seminars involving school principals, special needs assistants and teachers have been organised by St. Angela's College, Sligo and by Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Arising from this work, it was agreed that certificate courses would be offered immediately, on a pilot basis, by these colleges and that certificate courses, along similar lines, would also be provided by the Church of Ireland College of Education, Rathmines, in the coming school year.
Experience of the various initiatives, and ongoing discussion with the providers, continue to inform decisions regarding suitable training programmes for special needs assistants, taking into account the context in which they work and the importance of their role in assisting teachers to meet the needs of children with special needs. In this regard, I should add that discussions with the colleges of education, in particular, have clearly indicated that home study courses are not an effective method of delivering training programmes of this kind.
The delivery of the certificate courses will further inform decisions regarding suitable ways of delivering training to special needs assistants. In the meantime, and in addition to the courses outlined above, my Department will continue to consider requests from schools for relevant in-career development and will support suitable initiatives, including those proposed locally through the Education Centre Network. However, funding for home study courses will not be provided in 2002-03.
Boards of management of individual schools have some discretion in the area of funding for in-career development courses for staff.
