Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)

As had operated in the case of the learning support service, small schools are being clustered for the purpose of the weighted allocations. The Department's inspectorate is finalising the clustering arrangements. The weighted model involves the allocation of additional teaching posts as well as redeployment of resources between schools. This redeployment will be facilitated through the transaction of the primary teacher panels.

There is hope that the new weighted model will improve the level of service provided for pupils with special educational needs. The new system will reduce the need for individual applications and supporting psychological assessments, and will put resources in place on a more systematic basis, thereby giving schools more certainty about their resource levels. This will allow for better planning in schools, greater flexibility in identifying and intervening earlier with regard to pupils' special needs, as well as making the posts more attractive to qualified teachers.

The previous allocation system placed significant demands on principals, teachers and psychologists. It was also time-consuming, thereby delaying the allocation of resources for special needs. Action had to be taken to reform the system and the model now being introduced will, over time, significantly improve the capacity of the system to cater for children with special needs in a speedier, more effective way. The revised system will reduce the administrative burden on schools and allow them to concentrate on the delivery of services to pupils with special needs. It will also allow psychologists to devote more time to advising teachers on planning for individual children and for whole school provision.

The weighted allocation will be made up as follows: in the most disadvantaged schools — as per the urban dimension of giving children an even break — a teacher of pupils with special educational needs will be allocated for every 80 pupils to cater for the subset of pupils with higher incidence special needs; in all boys schools, the ratio will be one teacher for every 140 pupils; in mixed schools, or all girls schools with an enrolment of greater than 30% boys, one for every 150 pupils; and in all girls schools, including schools with mixed junior classes but with 30% or less boys overall, one for every 200 pupils. In the lower incidence disability categories resources will continue to be allocated on the basis of individual applications, a point the Deputies did not make clear in their contributions this evening. It is important that where there is a particular and special need in the low incidence category these children are considered individually. The resource will be allocated to them according to their individual needs.

These pupils are not evenly distributed among schools and a weighted model would not be appropriate. However, the impending involvement of the National Council for Special Education and the organisers will greatly enhance the speed of response to such applications. Furthermore, the fact that individual psychological assessments will not be needed for pupils being catered for under the weighted model will enable psychological services to provide a better service to those in the lower incidence categories as well as greater levels of systemic support to schools.

The Opposition motion referred to the responsibilities of school principals in this area. The weighted model will allocate an appropriate level of resources to schools. The deployment of those resources is, as it should be, a matter for the schools and in particular for school principals in consultation with their staff. The needs of children change over time as they develop and as programmes devised by their teachers take effect. It is best to take decisions in this area at school level rather than at a remote distance in the Department of Education and Science. My Department has supported and will continue to support schools and principals through the provision of advice and not least through the support of the national educational psychological service.

Applications for special needs assistants will continue to be made on an individual level in accordance with the criteria already set out by the Department. The criteria set out refer to a significant medical need for such an assistant, a significant impairment of physical or sensory function, or where the child's behaviour is such that he or she is a danger to himself or herself or to another. There was a significant care element included in those criteria. Processing of these applications will shortly transfer to the National Council for Special Education, which will improve the speed of response. Parents and teachers would look forward to a situation in which a child would not be totally dependent on the special needs assistant in his or her class but would be able to gain the independence as he or she goes through the education system which would enable him or her to participate fully in society.

I have taken immediate measures to have outstanding applications for special education resources responded to straight away. The objective in establishing the National Council for Special Education is to have clarity of entitlement, an accessible service at local level and speedy delivery. The general functions of the council are to carry out research and provide expert advice to the Minister on the educational needs of children with disabilities. It will provide a range of services at local and national level in order to identify and address the educational needs of children with disabilities. It will also co-ordinate the provision of education and related support services with health boards, schools and other relevant bodies.

The people with whom we deal in the special education area frequently raise the issue of the lack of co-ordination between the health services, parents feeling excluded from such decisions and the role of the teacher locally. Placing organisers in the locality will enable them to work with the parents and the schools, particularly to co-ordinate the services on a local level. That will ensure that when a child has been identified as having a special need, the services can be put in place immediately.

A total of 98 posts have been approved for the existing council; 18 of them for administrative and research purposes, 11 of which, including that of chief executive officer, were filled during 2003 in order to make practical preparatory arrangements for the council. A further five appointments have been made this year to date and two posts remain to be filled. The more important posts are those of the special education needs organisers, 70 of whom have been appointed, with a further ten to come. They will be responsible for ensuring that all special educational needs in their areas are addressed in an effective manner. The council will deploy the SENOs throughout the State to ensure national coverage. They will be charged with facilitating access to, and co-ordinating education services for children with special needs in their areas.

They will do this by liaising between local providers of educational services, and of necessary ancillary services, the council, the Department and parents. In many cases provision will be based on individual education plans for the children involved. This is precisely what the Deputies in the House have called for tonight and it is needed for these children. The 70 SENOs commenced employment with the council on 1 September 2004. They were recruited in an open, competitive process and all have previous experience of direct service provision to people with disabilities and have wide-ranging experience from which the whole system can benefit. We hope to fill the remaining ten posts by the end of this year. The SENOs who have been appointed are being assigned responsibility for specific primary, post-primary and special schools in their areas. They are engaged in an induction training programme and information gathering visits to their assigned schools. This should address the comment made by one to Deputy Enright. Following the induction training and the information gathering they will be able to engage in their functions as soon as they officially start work. The council and the Department of Education and Science are discussing the structured transfer of functions.

There is provision to establish a council with similar functions but with a wider remit under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. As soon as a commencement order is made in respect of the Act the existing council will be dissolved and replaced by a council established under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004. I intend to consult the council at an early date in advance of making the initial commencement order. In addition to the changes made in the delivery of resources to date the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 provides a map to the future development of special educational needs services. The Act reflects the Government's commitment to putting in place a strategy to address the needs of people with disabilities. It will begin in steps over the next few years, in accordance with an implementation plan to be drafted by the National Council for Special Education.

The Act will create enforceable rights to an educational assessment for all children with special educational needs, the development of an individual educational plan and the delivery of education services on foot of the plan. It will also ensure that the resources necessary to vindicate those rights will be available to schools, health boards and the council. Resources are of major importance to the provision of the service. There will be duties on the Ministers for Finance, Health and Children, and Education and Science to ensure that adequate resources are provided for the delivery of services. In particular the Minister for Finance is obliged under the Constitution to have due regard to the State's duty to provide for an education appropriate to the needs of every child and the necessity to provide equity of treatment for all children.

The council will co-ordinate special education provision, provide special needs organisers to promote good practice in special education and guarantee that children with special needs receive an appropriate education. The 70 special educational needs organisers will assist parents and schools in making education readily accessible to children with disabilities. That education will, as far as practicable, take place in an integrated setting.

One of the principles underpinning the Act is that parents have a right to be consulted and fully informed at every stage of the process. If they feel their views are not being full recognised, or where they feel the plan is not being implemented effectively, they have a right to appeal decisions concerning their children and these matters to an independent review board. The board has the power to compel bodies, including health boards, to take specific actions to address matters before it.

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