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Special Educational Needs.

Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 14 October 2004

Thursday, 14 October 2004

Ceisteanna (126, 127, 128, 129)

Olwyn Enright

Ceist:

126 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science when an education plan will by carried out on a person (details supplied) in County Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24897/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Freagraí scríofa

The person named currently attends a class for children with autistic spectrum disorders. The practice in this school is to provide individual educational plans for all the children in the class. An individual educational plan has already been prepared for this person. The development of individual educational plans is the responsibility of the school with advice from external professionals, as needed. In this case, a senior psychologist from the National Educational Psychological Service is available to the school on request for additional advice and support on developing the plan.

The National Educational Psychological Service intends to continue to offer support to this class and a review of the effectiveness of the individual educationaI plan will be carried out in consultation with the person's parents and teachers.

Olwyn Enright

Ceist:

127 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science if further resource hours will be sanctioned for a school (details supplied) in County Dublin in view of the fact that the allocation does not take into account the number of children in the school and their specific needs; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24898/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

Olwyn Enright

Ceist:

128 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science the reason the letters of a principal of a school (details supplied) in County Dublin sent on 27 May, 8, 21, 29 June and 10 September 2004, on the issue of special education have not been replied to; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24899/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

I propose to take Questions Nos. 127 and 128 together.

I can confirm that following receipt of correspondence from the school referred to by the Deputy a Department official telephoned the school principal on 23 September to discuss the matters raised in the correspondence. The official explained the current position relating to the school's application for special needs supports. It was explained that while the new weighted system has recently been developed, it is not yet fully implemented. It is a genuine effort to improve the special education resource allocation process. My Department will continue to examine how the new system will affect schools, including schools that have been established in recent years and have a limited level of special education resources.

An additional 350 teacher posts are being provided to facilitate the introduction of the new system. This system will involve a general weighted allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence special educational needs, that is, those with borderline mild and mild general learning disability and specific learning disability, as well as those with learning support needs. In addition, it will continue to allow for individual allocations in respect of pupils with lower incidence of special educational needs.

Olwyn Enright

Ceist:

129 Ms Enright asked the Minister for Education and Science if she will provide the information on which the decision to provide higher learning support to boys’ and mixed schools than to girls’ schools was based; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24900/04]

Amharc ar fhreagra

The revised system for allocating teaching resources to mainstream national schools for special needs comprises two elements. The first element is a general weighted allocation for pupils requiring learning support and pupils with higher incidence disabilities, that is, those with dyslexia and those with mild and borderline mild general learning disability. The second element enables schools to apply for specific support for those pupils with lower incidence disabilities and those applications are considered on their individual merits. In the case of specific pupils with lower-incidence disabilities, no differentiation is made on the basis of gender.

The general weighted allocation method discriminates positively in two important respects. First, it discriminates on a gender basis as a considerable body of evidence shows that boys are more likely than girls to have learning delays and special educational needs. Data available to the Department from its census of special educational needs in primary schools support this position as do successive literacy studies. Second, it recognises the connection between learning delay and special educational need on the one hand and socio-economic disadvantage on the other.

These considerations are reflected in the following weighted allocations. In the most disadvantaged schools, as per the urban dimension of the Giving Children an Even Break scheme, a teacher of pupils with special educational needs will be allocated for every 80 pupils to cater for the subset of pupils with higher incidence special needs; in all boys schools, the ratio will be one teacher for every 140 pupils; in mixed schools or all girl schools with an enrolment of greater than 30% boys, one for every 150 pupils; and in all girl schools, including schools with mixed junior classes but with 30% or less boys overall, one for every 200 pupils. Any all girl school which comes within the most disadvantaged category indicated above will attract the most favourable allocation.

The revised system has been developed in consultation with representative interests. It is a genuine effort to improve the special education resource allocation process. The differentiation under the general weighted allocation reflects the experience of needs both within this country and internationally. I will continue to work for improvements in the provision of education services for children with special educational needs and in this context will monitor the implementation of the new system to ensure its efficiency and effectiveness.

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