Cecilia Keaveney
Ceist:231 Cecilia Keaveney asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of children in County Donegal who are currently waiting for a NEPS assessment; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26737/03]
Written Answers. - Psychological Service.
Provision of educational psychological assessments is part of the work of the educational psychologists in the national educational psychological service, NEPS. The NEPS does not keep waiting lists of children requiring assessment in the sense of lists of names that are dealt with in chronological order. Such details are kept by the schools.
Each psychologist is responsible for a number of named schools, and visits each on a regular basis. The NEPS psychologists provide advice on the identification and screening of children who might need to be assessed. The school authorities keep a note of children who are giving cause for concern and discuss the relative urgency of each case during the psychologist's visits. This allows the psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and such children will be seen or referred on in a matter of weeks, if not days. Where cases are less urgent, the psychologist will, as a preliminary measure, act as a consultant to teachers and parents, offer advice about educational and behavioural plans and monitor progress.
Pending the expansion of the NEPS to all schools in the country, my Department has allocated funding for schools that do not yet have access to the NEPS service to commission psychological assessments from private practitioners. The NEPS has issued details of how to avail of this scheme to all schools. There have been concerns in the past that some children may have been referred to more than one agency, thus increasing the numbers of children waiting to be assessed in schools and in health board clinics, and leading to a duplication of effort. A joint working party, established by the NEPS and the health boards, reported during 2002 with a series of recommendations aimed at promoting effective liaison at national, regional and local level. This report has been accepted by the relevant management groups and will now be implemented. It includes recommendations for effective protocols in relation to referrals and waiting lists.