Mr. Jim Mulkerrins:

I am a principal officer representing the teacher education policy section in the Department of Education and Skills. I am joined by Mr. Eddie Ward, principal officer with responsibility for special education section in the Department. Ms Madeline Hickey of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, is in the Gallery.

We welcome this opportunity to appear before the committee today to discuss the issues raised in Petition No. P00011/18 regarding mandatory training on spectrum disorders for teachers. To assist the committee we have provided a briefing note for circulation to members for today’s meeting. That note provides an overview of policy developments and provision in the area of inclusive education and forms the basis of our presentation. I note that the focus of the petition is primarily on the need to educate the educators. This aim is fully shared by the Department and I hope to demonstrate today that there have been substantial developments in recent years. This has occurred in both initial teacher education, ITE, and in continual professional development for serving teachers with the aim of supporting teachers’ knowledge and understanding of the specific needs of children with special educational needs, including those with spectrum disorders including dyspraxia, sensory processing disorders and dyslexia as well as autism and other spectrum disorders.

I note also that the petition suggests that the desired objective could be achieved by making training mandatory. In his response to this committee on this issue in May, the Secretary General of the Department advised that inclusive education, including the education of children with special educational needs, is already a mandatory part of the standards for initial teacher education. The Teaching Council’s accreditation process for initial teacher education programmes is the mechanism through which the council can satisfy itself that its standards are being met through a given ITE programme.

The Secretary General also noted that, at present, no mandatory professional learning is required of teachers after they have completed initial teacher education and induction.

In this context, section 33 of the Teaching Council Act provides that the Teaching Council may make renewal of registration subject to having completed an accredited programme of continuing professional development, CPD. To inform and support the development of Cosán, the national framework for teachers’ learning, the Teaching Council implemented a comprehensive, multilayered consultation process in 2014 and 2015. Some 5,000 teachers contributed to the process, and the feedback was rich and helpful in informing the drafting of the framework, the purpose of which is to ensure there is a mechanism through which there could be further consideration of mandatory CPD. Findings from the process identified that teachers are very interested in opportunities to engage in high-quality professional learning activities that are relevant to their needs and those of their pupils and that enhance teaching and learning in their classrooms. Allied with this deep interest in professional learning is a strong interest in personal development and in the types of collaborative learning and professional conversations that take place in schools on formal and informal bases. The findings are confirmed by the strong demand for professional learning opportunities provided by the Department through its funded professional development services including the professional development service for teachers, the junior cycle team, the national induction programme and the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, along with other professional learning opportunities, about which I will speak further.

In considering the question of mandatory CPD, it is important to consider any evidence to indicate that a mandatory approach to CPD would enhance teachers’ practice and ensure that teachers are taking account of the diversity and complexity of learners’ needs, especially in a special education context. The evidence gathered thus far by the Teaching Council has led it to the conclusion that ongoing learning by teachers should be encouraged and incentivised to ensure authentic engagement in a way that is sustainable and impactful. Through the Cosán development process, the council is exploring with the profession how this can be done. The Department will be guided by advice supported by appropriate evidence when considering the broader question of linking teacher registration to the completion of accredited courses. At this time, the Department is of the view there is much more work to be done before such a move should be considered. In the material provided for the committee, we have included details of provision for professional development and, therefore, I do not propose to list the entire provision in my remarks. Nevertheless, I point members to the supports available to teachers through the NSCE. The council's remit is to develop schools' capacity to support students with special educational needs, including those with spectrum disorders, and to promote a continuum of educational provision that is inclusive and responsive. The NCSE is responsible for the allocation of additional teaching and care supports to schools to support children with special educational needs. In addition, the NCSE support services provide additional professional development supports for teachers of children with special educational needs. In this way, the NCSE fulfils a vital role in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in the area of special needs provision. CPD and other in-school supports provided by the NCSE are designed to enable teachers to adopt evidence based approaches to teaching students in special and mainstream classes and special schools. The focus of professional development is on enhancing teachers’ understanding of the nature of the special educational need, including autism and other spectrum disorders, and the learning and teaching implications for each individual student and teacher; enhancing teachers’ use of a variety of interventions and teaching approaches for students based on the assessed needs of the students and taking account of empirical research; and enabling teachers to assess, plan and implement effective and differentiated teaching strategies with a view to meeting the needs of students through individualised planning, which I will address further.

To support children with autism, the NCSE support service and the Middletown Centre for Autism operate co-operatively on the provision of CPD for teachers in the area of autism spectrum disorders. The Middletown centre, based in County Armagh, is a joint North-South initiative established in 2007 with funding provided by the then Department of Education and Science, along with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland. Its purpose is to support the promotion of excellence in the development and co-ordination of education services to children and young people with autism. There is also a range of other Department-funded CPD supports provided through other support services and delivered throughout the national network of 21 whole-time and nine part-time education centres, as well as in primary and post-primary schools throughout the country. When designing CPD for delivery to teachers, all support services must take account of the needs of all learners, including students with spectrum disorders and all students with special educational needs.

I thank members for their attention. We are happy to answer any questions they may have. We look forward to engagement with Mr. Harris. It will not be the first time and I am sure we will have a positive discussion.