Robert Troy
Ceist:502. Deputy Robert Troy asked the Minister for Education if she will include a diagnosis of giftedness in the criteria for receipt of appropriate educational supports. [21309/20]
Amharc ar fhreagraTuesday, 8 September 2020
Ceisteanna (502)
Freagraí scríofa
I wish to advise the Deputy that very significant resources are committed to supporting children with special educational needs, including children and young people who are exceptionally able.
The Government invests almost €1.9bn a year in special education needs supports, nearly one fifth of the overall Education budget, and up 50% since 2011.
This continued substantial investment in special education resources has contributed to significant improvements in the growing numbers of children who now access and remain in mainstream education with the assistance of these supports.
Inclusive education is at the core of the Department’s policy which requires differentiated teaching approaches to cater for the varying levels of ability in the classroom, from providing additional supports to those experiencing difficulty to ensuring appropriate levels of challenge and enrichment for exceptionally able students.
The Report of the Special Education Review Committee (SERC report) 1993 made a number of recommendations and outlined approaches for schools to cater for gifted pupils through enrichment, acceleration and differentiation strategies.
The Education Act, 1998 requires Boards of Management of each school to publish the policy of the school relating to participation by students with special educational needs, including students who are exceptionally able. The measures schools take in this regard are required to be stated in the school plan. It is the duty of the Board of Management to ensure that appropriate education services are made available to such students.
Schools at both primary and secondary level use strategies such as curriculum differentiation, curriculum enrichment and acceleration to facilitate the development of pupils who are exceptionally able.
It is not necssary for pupils to have a specific diagnosis of giftedness in order to receive differentiated education support.
The primary curriculum recognises the importance of developing the full potential of the child and caters for pupil diversity, including meeting the needs of exceptionally able pupils. Syllabi and curricula for second-level schools have been designed in such a way to enable teachers cater for the wide range of pupil ability. Content is outlined in the curricula at both levels and process is also heavily emphasised. Enabling children to learn how to learn is stressed and facilitated. The development of language skills, investigatory and problem-solving skills, higher-order thinking skills and working individually, and as a member of a group, are all encouraged at both levels.
The use of information and communication technologies and the use of class and school libraries are of benefit for all pupils, and have a special importance for pupils who are exceptionally able.
The NCSE Support Service brought under their control the Special Education Support Service (SESS), the National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS) and the Visiting Teacher Service for children who are deaf/hard of hearing and for children who are blind/visually impaired (VTSVHI) from 20th March 2017.
The development of this new Support Service within the NCSE means that schools will receive better and more integrated support. It will build on the existing good work and supports which the National Behavioural Support Service, the Special Education Support Service and Visiting Teacher Service currently provide to children and their families as well as to teachers and schools. The NCSE Support Service will provide advice and support to schools on the education and inclusion of students with special educational needs, including those pupils who are exceptionally able, providing in-school support, continuing professional development for teachers, and support to schools (More information on the range of programmes offered by the SESS is available on www.ncse.ie).
In addition, the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), under the management of the Department of Education and Skills, provides training in differentiation, in terms of differentiating for all pupils, whether less able/more able. Issues around exceptional ability and giftedness are addressed as part of the school planning process which is facilitated by the PDST.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) in collaboration with its counterparts in Northern Ireland, the Council for Curriculum Examination and Assessment (CCEA), produced guidelines entitled "Exceptionally Able Students – Draft Guidelines for Teachers" which issued to all Primary and Post Primary schools in November 2007.
https://ncca.ie/media/1974/exceptionally_able_students_draft_guidelines_for_teachers.pdf
The NCCA/CCEA guidelines are designed to raise awareness of the social, emotional and academic needs of exceptionally able students and to assist teachers in planning their teaching and learning. The guidelines provide advice to schools on identification of gifted children, set out profiles of students, and whole school and classroom strategies and case studies which demonstrate how schools can best meet the needs of such students. The general strategies include differentiated teaching, acceleration and enrichment approaches in the context of participation in mainstream schools.
The reformed Junior Cycle also allows schools greater scope to put the learning needs of their students at the core of their planning.
New subject specifications and a range of short courses give schools the opportunity to provide for greater differentiation for their range of student ability. The emphasis on skills development, creativity and innovation allows gifted students to become critical thinkers, problem solvers and entrepreneurs, while the new school based assessment component of the final examination will provide them with opportunities to demonstrate their level of achievement. The school work component of subjects will also give schools an opportunity to differentiate appropriately for all students, including students who are exceptionally able.
The Programme for Government 2020, Our Shared Future, also commits that this Government will Implement a strategy to support gifted and talented students at both primary and post-primary levels, and proposals will be brought forward in relation to this matter in the near future.