Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 24 May 2022
362. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Education if a school (details supplied) will be re-considered as the base school for the cluster special education teaching hours applicable as was the situation in the past in order to maintain its permanent teacher positions in the school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25788/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraThe Special Education Teaching (SET) allocation provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile. This model has replaced the previous model of allocating resource teaching support and learning support to schools based on a diagnosis of disability.
The Special Education Teacher allocation, allows schools to provide additional teaching support for all pupils who require such support in their schools and for schools to deploy resources based on each pupil’s individual learning needs.
The allocation gives greater flexibility to schools as to how they can deploy their resources, to take account of the actual learning needs pupils have, as opposed to being guided by a particular diagnosis of disability, and schools are guided as to how they should make such allocation decisions.
The SET model was re-profiled for the 2022/2023 school year by updating the needs profile of each school and this resulted in revised allocations of SET hours to each school based on their needs profile.
Due to the new allocation of SET hours, all existing SET clusters will cease at the end of the current school year. Schools were given an opportunity to enter into cluster arrangements with neighbouring schools to achieve a full-time post. Currently, a Department-led clustering process is ongoing in order to recluster any remaining hours into full-time posts ahead of the release of the Main Redeployment Panel.
