Fidelma Healy Eames (Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the deputation for the answers and I appreciate the responses. Everyone is saying we are all in agreement around this table, but it is not a matter of being in agreement as much as getting this right. Answers are still needed. Equity is a prerequisite and I expect we should have equity. We are discussing education as a human right for the child.

I am not about to say all is fine and dandy. I fully accept that every teacher, whether class teacher or subject teacher, is formatively assessing the child all the time and making judgments about the child. There is a major difference, however, between that and the teacher coming to the conclusion a child is not learning and deciding what to do about it. That is the question. Differentiated teaching is an ideal but how does it fit with large numbers in classes? Let us suppose there is a class of 30 children, including a child with Asperger's syndrome, although we may not wish to call it that, a child with autism, children with challenging behaviour or a child who perhaps is having a difficult time at home. It is about coming to grips with all that. I am not about to accept that this is an easy job. That would be to ignore my entire background. Without professional development and upskilling for all teachers, the job is impossible. We are denying the right of children to education appropriate to their needs. What are the plans for professional development of all teachers, including class teachers and subject teachers? I accept it should be a prerequisite at teacher training colleges. That area is improving but there are still many teachers in the system who have not had any such training.

Is there any thought being put into videoconferencing? For example, it could show a classroom with varied needs and how a teacher is responding. There is a considerable difference between knowing a child is not learning and there is something wrong on the surface and knowing what is underpinning that. Nine tenths of the iceberg is below the surface and that is the professional support to which I refer. I do not accept that all teachers are capable of managing without help. That would be to deny my experience and that of many others. The question remains. What are the plans for a mass offering of upskilling?

Mr. Goff said he is keen to see NEPS in schools more often. What are the plans for speech and language therapists to be devolved into clusters to support schools? I had a child who used to lose three to four hours out of a classroom day by the time she got to Galway for her 45 minutes support and got back to school again. That is not effective deployment of resources, especially not for the child. We should consider a model where there is one speech and language therapist for a set of eight schools. Nothing is as sure as the need for speech and language intervention. The deputation will have the figures from the profiling. I look forward to hearing the answers.