Charlie McConalogue (Donegal North East, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

When I talk to parents and teachers, one thing that seems to come up often is feedback to the effect that there seem to be a higher number of children with special needs and particular learning needs than there were five or ten years ago. This comes up often. I am unsure whether it is being identified more clearly now or what exactly the dynamic is, but I am keen to hear the views of our guests in this regard because they would probably have a better steer on it than most.

What has the feedback been from teachers and principals on the use of the STen, standard ten, score in standardised testing?

Those that have made a great deal of progress in recent years and that have been particularly successful and performing well in supporting students who need additional supports and, therefore, have improved their test results feel they will be punished and not rewarded under a new system which takes those scores into account, even though they have managed to improve them bit by bit.

The greatest weighting will be given in the allocation of resources to the special educational needs requirement of a school. How will that assessment be conducted under the new system? Who will assess what are the special educational needs requirements of a school? Will the resources be available to ensure that happens?