David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The Minister, Deputy McHugh, was present for most of the debate, but he had to leave to go to the Seanad for another debate and asked me to respond in his stead.

I started teaching over 40 years ago. I know - I do not look it. At the time many of the conditions of which we are aware today were not recognised or known. Dyspraxia, dyslexia, dyscalculia, autism, ADD, ADHD, various forms of depression and so on were not widely known in schools at the time. As Deputy Michael Healy-Rae said, we have learned a lot in the intervening years and continue to learn. We have come a long way.

I thank Deputies for their contributions to the debate. I share their view that children with special educational needs should be supported to access the education system. I was deeply involved in the debate which led to the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs, EPSEN, Act. In fact, I think I christened it with the then Minister, Noel Dempsey. We had a very good debate on it.

As a Government, we fully recognise the importance of an inclusive and all-embracing education system and nowhere is it more important than in the case of children with special educational needs. Government policy on supporting children with special educational needs aims to ensure all children with special needs can have access to an education appropriate to their needs. The policy is to provide for inclusive education and ensure the maximum possible integration of children with special needs into ordinary mainstream schools. All new school buildings and significant refurbishment projects now incorporate provision students with for special needs as standard. There seemed to be some confusion about that aspect in the debate. Where pupils require more targeted interventions, special classes or special school placements are also provided. Very significant levels of financial provision are made each year to ensure all children with special educational needs can access education. Some speakers mentioned home education. I am told that the Department is processing applications within 15 working days. To date, 544 applications have been approved. Just 83 are being processed, mostly for children under six years.

The Department spends approximately €1.5 billion, or almost 19% of its total education budget, annually in making additional provision for children with special educational needs. We have significantly increased the availability of specialist placements for children with special educational needs, as well as bringing more children into mainstream education. An additional 1,050 specialised places have been approved during this school year, with 167 new special classes.

The number of special education teachers has increased by 37%, from 9,740 in 2011 to over 13,400 at present. The number of special needs assistants has risen by 50%, from 10,575 in 2011 to 15,950 at present. A total of 124 special schools also provide specialist education for students with complex special educational needs, including autism. These school now provide over 8,000 places compared to 6,848 in 2011. The number of children benefiting from these supports is also at an all-time high. Other supports include an assistive technology scheme for students and funded transport arrangements to get children to school.

The motion references the need for planning for children with special needs in the context of the EPSEN Act 2004. Under the Education Act 1998, schools are already required to "provide education to students which is appropriate to their abilities and needs" and to "ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or other educational needs, are identified and provided for". We have a very professional teaching workforce in schools who take pride in the education of the children in their care. Planning is a normal part of a teacher's work and planning tools such as the student support file have been created as a resource to help schools provide for their students.

The NCSE has a key role in front-line planning and the co-ordination of education provision for children with special needs. Some colleagues referred to difficulties they had experienced with children. SENOs are available to assist, while educational welfare officers also do considerably good work. The NCSE's remit includes responsibility for building school capacity through continuous professional development and specialist training and promoting a continuum of educational provision which is inclusive and responsive.

Some of the ESPEN Act provisions which have not been commenced have been overtaken by new policy and the expanded range of supports now in place for children with special needs. Currently, there is a particular focus on supporting schools that are setting up a special class for the first time. The focus of professional development is on enhancing teachers' understanding of the nature of the special educational need 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 students and taking account of empirically based 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.

The NCSE has published a number of policy advice papers in recent years. I am sure colleagues have read many of them. They have made recommendations aimed at developing better education services for children with special educational needs. Policy advice reports include the NCSE policy advice paper, Supporting Students with Special Educational Needs in Schools, published in 2013; the report of the working group on a proposed new model for allocating teaching resources for pupils with special educational needs, published in 2014, and the comprehensive review of the special needs assistant scheme, published in 2018. Deputy Brassil might also look at them. They are very interesting and make some very good points.

In developing such policy advice papers the NCSE consulted widely with stakeholders, disability representative bodies and parents' bodies. In bringing forward proposals for the implementation of the recommendations contained in the reports the Department also consults widely with education partners and stakeholders. Following intensive consultations with education partners, a new model for allocating special education teachers to mainstream schools was introduced from September 2017. Under the new allocation model, schools are provided with a total allocation for special education teaching support based on a school's profile. Schools are front-loaded with resources to provide support immediately for those pupils who need it without delay. This means that children who need support can have it provided immediately, rather than having to wait for a diagnosis. It also means that under the new allocation model, children do not need to be labelled with a particular condition to qualify for extra teaching assistance. It gives greater freedom to schools to give extra teaching help to the pupils who most need it, regardless of their diagnosis.

The ongoing prioritisation of special education funding, in conjunction with policy developments, will see continued improvements in the provision of education for children with special educational needs. As a Government, we are ever conscious of the need to support such children and have responded through the continuation of and the introduction of a significant level of relevant supports.

Not having a suitable school placement for a child is a serious concern for any parent. The NCSE is working with families in a number of areas of the country to resolve individual situations. Section 37A of the Education Act 1998 has been invoked and may need to be used again. However, the Minister's stated preference is for schools to engage with this challenge on a voluntary basis because it is the right thing to do for the children in their community. The Department, together with the NCSE, will continue to work with schools, patron bodies and teachers in order that they can establish special classes, where required, with confidence.

We want them to do that. In that way we will continue to seek to meet the educational needs of children in their local schools insofar as possible. I thank the Members opposite for raising these issues, which has provided an opportunity to outline to the House the Government's commitment to ensuring that children with special educational needs are provided with every opportunity to fully participate in and benefit from the educational system. I confirm that the Government will not oppose this motion but will not support the amendments to it.

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