Ms Anne Howard:

I thank the Deputy for her questions. The issue of CPD is linked to her query on what the union can do to encourage people to engage in July provision alongside the engagement in working with special classes. The roll-out of CPD by the Department would be beneficial. There is a need for something to be devised and rolled out nationally. At local level, schools are running programmes, sometimes independently, sometimes in the evenings. When I was teaching, the school that I came from ran a course in the evening that teachers engaged with willingly. The roll-out of CPD is important.

Connected with that issue, I will refer to the postgraduate qualification in SEN, which many teachers have pursued. It is a great qualification and the Department should encourage people to pursue it. It would be most beneficial if the qualification were paid for fully by the Department as the employer, given that all of the benefits of the course go to the school. At one stage, an allowance was given for those who had achieved the additional qualification in SEN. It encouraged people to give up their time to pursue the course, but it no longer exists. It would be great to see it return to schools because the qualification is a significant benefit and resource.

An allowance is not just about making a financial commitment to people who engage with CPD, particularly at that level. Pursuing the qualification takes a great deal of time from their families and their lives. Obviously, the qualification benefits them and their schools, but we should be acknowledging and rewarding those who engage with it.

Regarding what encouragement we, as a union, can give, we are requesting that the resources that teachers need to do their jobs well, roll out special educational needs programmes within their schools and provide for their students be put in place. Money was mentioned. Sometimes, putting resources in place means that people are paid appropriately for their jobs.

On separating out July provision, consideration could be given to a separate post being created within a school as a subsection. The connection between the student and the school is important. The school is the place that the student is familiar with and the environment that the student knows and there is great security in it. All of the people working on the scheme do not have to be teachers, but if they are familiar to the students who engage with the summer programme, there is great security in that for those students. There is the possibility of a role being created within the school as a subsection.

I always have great difficulty with things being designated back to the school to do. The school is a building and does not amount to an individual. When something is once again sent back to a school for the school to do, the designation does not identify who in the school will take on that job. The Deputy knows this, given that she comes from this environment. Even in the past ten years, the extent to which demands on school personnel have increased has been significant. The environment within the school has changed greatly. If this job was designated to an identified person, it would take pressure off school management, including principals and deputy principals, who have done Trojan work. This is something that could be considered.

Regarding the roll-out of SEN in schools, I am conscious of the fact that there has been an erosion of middle management roles in schools, including what are now AP1s and AP2s - assistant principals - at post-primary level. If a school were to have a designated co-ordinator for SEN, it would allow for the co-ordination of all of the resources. The Deputy spoke about health professionals being engaged to work with students in schools. I would support the idea of health professionals coming into schools to work with teachers, but I agree that they need to be working with the students and the teachers if their engagement is to be beneficial. If there is a co-ordinator role in schools, it should not be filled by people who are doing it on a voluntary basis. It should be rolled out nationally and the same process and supports should be in place for all staff, not just those in individual schools. Individual schools and ETBs have employed psychologists to do the necessary work on the ground, but that work needs to be done in all schools. It cannot come down to a geographical lottery where people can only get what they need because they are in schools in particular areas. All students in all areas should have access.

I hope I have addressed the Deputy's questions.