I propose to take Questions Nos. 474, 476 and 484 together.
The mainstream staffing of a primary school, including primary schools in County Kildare, is determined by applying the enrolment of the school on 30 September of the previous school year to a staffing schedule agreed between my Department and the education partners. My Department will finalise the staffing schedule for the 2005-06 school year shortly and thereafter notify school boards of management.
Every effort is made to ensure that children with special educational needs receive an education appropriate to their needs and significant additional resources have been made available to schools in recent years to enable them to provide for children with such needs. In this regard, there are dedicated resources deployed to support children with special educational needs in the primary system, including more than 2,600 resource teachers, more than 1,500 learning support teachers, more than 1,000 teachers in special schools, more than 600 teachers in special classes, nearly 6,000 special needs assistants, more than €30 million on school transport for special needs pupils and more than €3 million towards specialised equipment and materials.
In the light of the reality that pupils in the high incidence disability categories of mild and borderline mild general learning disability and dyslexia are distributed throughout the education system, my Department, in consultation with educational interests, developed a general model of resource teacher allocation to schools to support students in these disability categories. This model, announced by my predecessor in 2004 to come into effect from September 2005, was designed to put in place a permanent resource in primary schools to cater for pupils in these categories. The model was constructed in order that allocations would be based on pupil numbers, taking into account the differing needs of the most disadvantaged schools and the evidence that boys have greater difficulties than girls in this regard.
In the light of the possible impact on small and rural schools, I have asked my Department to conduct a review of the general allocation model. The review will be completed in the coming weeks and its outcome will be announced in time to be implemented for the next school year. With regard to the second level system, the level of resources being made available to support students with special educational needs has also grown significantly in recent years. In the current school year, my Department has allocated approximately 1,388 whole-time equivalent teachers and 630 special needs assistants to second level schools and VECs to cater for pupils with special educational needs.
My Department established the Special Education Support Service, SESS, in September 2003 to manage, co-ordinate and develop a range of supports in response to identified training needs. The SESS, which is hosted in the Laois Education Centre, provides a nationwide service for teachers and special needs assistants. As part of its response to the growing demand from teachers for support and training, the SESS is developing teams of trainers to deliver training in four specific areas, autism, challenging behaviour, dyslexia and inclusion. This training will be delivered locally through the education centre network.
In addition to the measures I have outlined, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has been established as an independent statutory body with responsibilities set out in the National Council for Special Education (Establishment) Order 2003. The establishment of the NCSE is a further major step in ensuring that the requirements of children with special educational needs are identified and the necessary resources put in place in a timely and effective manner.
The issue of providing adequate resources to meet the special educational needs of relevant children will continue to be a priority for me. In this regard, my Department is continuing to take steps to develop the network of special educational provisions for children with special needs and I believe the steps taken in recent years and those in hand represent significant progress in the development of those services.