Terence Flanagan
Ceist:749. Deputy Terence Flanagan asked the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she is taking to improve special needs education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [46543/15]
Amharc ar fhreagraWednesday, 13 January 2016
Ceisteanna (749)
Freagraí scríofa
I wish to advise the Deputy that some €1.37 billion will be spent in support of children with Special Educational Needs this year, which represents approximately 15% of my Department's budget.
This provides for a range of supports and services including additional learning and resource teaching support, Special Needs Assistant (SNA) support, special transport arrangements, building adaptations, enhanced capitation, funding for the purchase of specialised equipment, services of the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), enhanced levels of capitation in Special schools and Special Classes and additional teacher training.
The policy of my Department is that children with special educational needs should be included where possible and appropriate in mainstream placements with additional supports provided. In circumstances where children with special educational need require more specialised interventions, special school or special class places are also available.
A range of supports have been provided for schools which have enrolled pupils with special educational needs in order to ensure that, wherever a child is enrolled, they will have access to an appropriate education.
We now have a higher level of Resource Teaching and SNA support than ever before.
In July last, I announced that an additional 610 Special Needs Assistant posts are being provided for this year. From September, there are 11,820 whole time equivalent SNA posts available in Primary, Post Primary and Special schools to support children with special educational needs with assessed care needs. This is the highest level of SNA allocation that we have ever had. In total there has been an increase of 11.7% in SNA posts available for allocation to schools since this Government came to office. These extra posts will ensure that the Government's policy of ensuring that every child who is assessed as needing SNA support will receive access to such support.
In addition, the NCSE has established over 150 new Special Classes in the 2015/16 school year, which means there are now over 1,000 special classes attached to mainstream schools catering for children with special educational needs.
I also announced provision for an additional 480 Resource Teachers, to take into account increased demand and demographic growth and to ensure that children can continue to have access to additional supports in school.
The Deputy will be aware that I have also established a pilot of a new model for allocating resource teachers to schools, which is currently underway in 47 schools with widespread support. The NCSE had recommended that a new model be developed based on the profiled needs of each school, rather than on the diagnosed disability of individual children. It is intended that this new model will reduce the inequities in the current system and also ensure that we are not unnecessarily labelling children from a young age.
The pilot, which will run for the duration of the current school year, will test the practical impacts of the new model prior to full implementation. It will also review the experiences of the schools who participated and assist us further in developing the model. Consultation will continue to take place with education partners and stakeholders prior to the implementation of any new model.
This Government's continued investment in education will ensure that children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education and be supported in a manner appropriate to their needs. We have been resolutely committed to protecting, and in some instances increasing, the level of investment being made to support children with special educational needs at a time when there has been a requirement to make expenditure reductions across a range of areas. It is an area of spending which has been prioritised above most other areas by this Government, despite the enormous pressures on all areas of public spending.