Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour) | Oireachtas source

I have an additional note that might be of assistance to the Deputy. The NCSE was 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. As part of the NCSE's comprehensive policy advice on how the education system can best support children with special educational needs, it recommended that under the new allocation model proposed by the NCSE, children should be allocated additional resources in line with their level of need, rather than by disability category. This is a policy shift.

The NCSE recommended that in the short-term, pupils with Down's syndrome, who are also in the mild general learning disability category, should continue to be supported by schools' learning support allocation in the same way as other pupils with a mild GLD. The NCSE established a working group to develop a proposal for consideration of a new tailored allocation model, which is set out as one of the principal recommendations of the report. I understand I will have that report in about six to eight weeks.

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