Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have been given the opportunity by the Deputy to clarify the position on the provision of teaching support for children with Down's syndrome. I am taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Quinn.

Pupils with Down's syndrome who are attending mainstream primary schools may receive additional teaching support in primary schools, either under the terms of the general allocation model of teaching supports if the pupil's educational psychological assessment places the pupil in the mild general learning disability or high-incidence disability category, or through an allocation of individual additional resource teaching hours which are allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education if the child is assessed as being within the low-incidence category of special need, as defined by my Department's circular Sp Ed 02/05.

Pupils with Down's syndrome who are assessed as being within the category of mild general learning disability but who also have an additional assessment of another low-incidence disability, such as hearing impairment, will also be supported by an additional allocation by the NCSE. Resource teaching provision is therefore made for children with Down's syndrome in the same manner as for other children with assessed syndromes and in accordance with the policy of the Department, which is set out in circular 02/05.

Whether resource teaching hours are allocated to schools under the general allocation model or through an allocation made by the NCSE based on individual low-incidence special needs, it is a matter for schools to then utilise and manage those resources to best provide for the teaching needs of qualifying children. Each school will use its professional judgment to decide how the provision of additional resource teaching time and hours is made to the qualifying pupils in the school to ensure all their individual needs are met.

Additional teaching time may be provided to pupils on an individual basis or in pairs or small groups. It may also be provided in the classroom through team teaching or through withdrawal to a resource teaching room. Guidance for schools on the management of their resource teaching allocations is provided in special education circular 02/05.

The NCSE, which has a formal role under section 20 of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 to advise the Minister for Education and Skills on any matter relating to the education of children and others with disabilities, has been asked to provide policy advice on the issue of whether Down's syndrome should be reclassified as a low-incidence disability in all instances, regardless of assessed cognitive ability. This advice will be included in the NCSE's policy advice on how the education system can best support children with special educational needs, which will be published in the near future.

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