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Gnáthamharc

School Staffing.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 30 March 2004

Tuesday, 30 March 2004

Ceisteanna (207, 208, 209, 210)

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

321 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the current and anticipated requirement in respect of classroom assistants; the extent to which this need is being met and is likely to be met in the near future; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10099/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

322 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which resource teachers are required at primary level; the way he expects to meet this requirement in the short term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10100/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

323 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which remedial teachers are required at primary level; the way he expects to meet this requirement in the short term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10101/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Bernard J. Durkan

Ceist:

324 Mr. Durkan asked the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which special needs teachers are required at primary level; the way he expects to meet this requirement in the short term; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10102/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

I propose to take Questions Nos. 321 to 324, inclusive, together.

All children with special needs within the primary sector have an entitlement to special education support. The precise nature and level of support provided is based on the professionally assessed needs of the individual child. The allocation of resource teaching support and special needs assistant support is based on the availability of psychological reports and any other relevant documentation. The number of resource teachers has increased from 104 in 1998 to more than 2,600 currently in the primary school sector. The number of special needs assistants within the primary system has grown from 300 in 1998 to 4,319 full-time and a further 1,353 part-time posts.

Applications for special educational needs resources received between 15 February and 31 August 2003 are being considered at present. In all, more than 5,000 such applications were received. Priority was given to cases involving children starting school last September. All these new entrant cases were responded to and we continue to respond to emergency applications. The processing of applications is a complex and time consuming operation. However, my Department is endeavouring to have this completed as quickly as possible and my officials will then respond to all applicant schools. The balance of more than 4,000 applications has been reviewed by a dedicated team comprising members of my Department's inspectorate and the National Educational Psychological Service. These applications are being further considered in the context of the outcome of surveys of special needs provision conducted over the past year or so. Account is also being taken of the data submitted by schools as part of the recent nation-wide census of special needs provision.

Arrangements for processing applications received since September 2003 will be considered in the context of the outcome of discussions on a weighted system of allocation of resource teaching support. In this context, my officials have initiated discussions on the matter with representative interests. At this stage, it would be premature to anticipate the outcome. The basic purpose of that review is to ensure that each school has the level of resources required to cater for its pupils with special educational needs.

Pending the conclusion of discussions with the representative interests, schools are advised to refer to Circular 24/03, which issued in September 2003. This circular contains practical advice on how to achieve the most effective deployment of resources already allocated for special educational needs within the school. The number of learning support teachers in the primary school system has increased from 1,302 in 1998 to 1,531 at present. In selecting pupils for learning support provision, remedial priority should be given to those pupils who achieve scores at or below the tenth percentile. In order to allow for measurement error, consideration may be given to selecting pupils who achieve scores up to and including the twelfth percentile. Once schools are satisfied that the needs of pupils who have low achievement or serious learning difficulties have been met, a limited degree of flexibility may be exercised in the deployment of the learning support teacher. The principal teacher has overall responsibility for the school's learning support programme and for the operation of services for children with special educational needs.

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