Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move amendment No. 1:

To delete all words after "That" and substitute the following: "Dáil Éireann resolves that the Education (Inspection of Individual Education Plans for Children with Special Needs) Bill 2022 be deemed to be read a second time this day twelve months, to allow for the expansion of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the attendant services provided by the NCSE, as well as the completion of the review of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004.".

I thank Deputies Tully and Guirke for raising issues relating to the prevalence and quality assurance of individual education plans for students with special education needs in primary and post-primary schools. It is an important issue that warrants detailed consideration, not just in this forum but also in the wider education sphere and with the full range of education stakeholders. For that reason, and for others on which I will provide detail presently, I am seeking a timed amendment of 12 months to this Bill to facilitate the progression of a number of significant developments in special education that are relevant to how schools and teachers prepare and review the effectiveness of plans for individual students.

Deputies will be aware that the aim of the Government is to ensure every child with additional needs receives an appropriate education based on his or her needs. My Department is committed to delivering an education system of the highest quality in which every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach his or her full potential. Special education is a priority area for investment for this Government. This year we will expend about 27% of the Department's budget on special education.

I recognise the critical importance of effective planning for all students, but especially for those with special educational needs. Effective planning on the part of teachers will ensure the right supports are delivered at the right time for students in schools. Effective planning is a collaborative effort that involves class and subject teachers as well as special education teachers. Critically, effective planning practices in schools will place the student at the centre of deliberations and will offer an opportunity to them and to their parents to be active participants in the planning process.

From my personal engagement with schools, I know they value the voices of students and parents. I am supportive of measures designed to ensure school practices in that regard are optimal. I am cognisant of the need to ensure data and information relating to students in schools can be used, as appropriate, to inform policy development in special education and in education more broadly.

On the inspectorate, the Private Member's Bill before us proposes to amend the Education Act to grant additional functions to my Department's inspectorate. These additional functions include examining and reporting to the Minister on the prevalence and standard of individual educational plans for children with special educational needs. The Bill envisages that the inspectorate would undertake quality assurance of individual education plans for many thousands of students. Among its key responsibilities, the Department's inspectorate works to provide assurances of quality of schools in the evaluation processes. In that regard, the special focus is on whole-school evaluation processes and on operational planning. It is not intended to focus on the work of the individual teacher or on the progress the individual student is making in his or her learning. It should be noted that many inspection models, including those focused specifically on the quality of the provision for children with special educational needs, involve reviews of plans for students and the manner by which schools seek to implement measures aimed at addressing identified needs. For example, this involves inquiring into whether the school is gathering appropriate data on the student and whether teachers are selecting appropriate interventions to meet the identified needs of the student. During school inspections, inspectors also evaluate the extent to which plans inform the manner in which teachers seek to address identified students needs.

As well as an inspection function, the inspectorate works to support best practice in schools by providing advice and guidance to school management and teachers in respect of whole-school planning and planning for individual students. Schools also have the option of requesting support from the inspectorate on specific areas of their practices, including planning. It is important to note, therefore, that the inspectorate conducts comprehensive programmes of inspections of special education at primary and post-primary levels, and an analysis of inspection findings shows that, generally, the quality of planning for individual students is good.

Schools are being supported to adopt and utilise a robust self-evaluation process to review the quality of provision for students. The day-to-day responsibility for this work lies with the school principal who reports on this to the board of management. Ultimately, the boards of management are responsible for ensuring teachers avail of the necessary training, supports and resources to help them prepare quality plans for students.

The Deputies may also be aware that considerable training, supports and resources are in place to enable teachers to prepare high-quality plans for individual students, including those with special educational needs. These include comprehensive guidelines on teacher professional learning opportunities provided by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, on planning for students with special educational needs, and comprehensive guidelines on teacher professional learning opportunities provided by the Professional Development Service for Teachers, PDST, on whole-school and individual teacher planning practices. The results of the school self-evaluation support visits are provided by the Department's inspectorate. There is also support and advice on planning for individual students which is provided by the National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS. There is a comprehensive suite of published guidelines for teachers of the provision in special education.

There are also a number of very important contextual issues relevant to the substance of this Bill and special education that need to be considered. Prime among these is a comprehensive and ongoing review of the EPSEN Act, which I announced in 2021 and which the Deputies have acknowledged in their contributions. The EPSEN Act provides for the education of children under the age of 18 who have special educational needs. Obviously, the purpose of the review is to ensure the legislation on education for students with special educational needs is up to date, is fully operational, and is reflective of the experience of students and families. Crucially, in the context of the proposed Private Member' Bill, this includes those sections of the Act relating to individual education plans, open collaboration, and consultation at the heart of this review.

All stakeholders are being invited to engage with the process. I have set up a number of steps with the Department on the review of this important legislation. A steering group, a working group and an advisory group have all been established, and all of the groups have had multiple engagements. Significant work was undertaken during the summer months in 2022 to prepare public surveys and consultation papers and to inform members of the public of the review. This online and public consultation phase was launched by the Department on 30 November 2022. As of 1 March last, we have received more than 18,000 replies. That survey is being extended and remains open until 24 March. After that, focus groups will be organised at the conclusion of the public survey to explore the key themes that arise as a result of the survey analysis. That review is due to be completed by the last quarter of 2023, which I believe was one of the Deputy's questions. Given the importance of the review and its current stage of development, it would not be appropriate to progress the Private Member's Bill while this review is being undertaken.

Another important contextual factor in considering this Bill is the recently announced expansion of the NCSE. I was delighted to secure as part of the budgetary process for 2023 additional investment of nearly €13 million to support that. We will see an increase of over 50% in staffing levels in the NCSE, providing for an additional 161 staff, including additional SENOs who obviously have day-to-day engagement with schools.

As I outlined at the outset, there is merit in having system-level information and data in respect of all aspects of special education provision as a means of informing special education policy development. Included in these data and information is the number of students availing of additional supports in schools. The introduction of the SET model in 2017 removed the need for a diagnosis of disability. Fundamentally, the SET model acknowledges that schools and teachers know their students best and are best placed to determine which students require additional support at any given time. They are also best placed to monitor the effectiveness of measures put in place. This is a fairer, more equitable way of working and schools have been really good in applying the key principle underpinning the allocation model which is that the child with the greatest level of need should get the greatest level of support.

As part of the introduction of the SET model which recognises that schools and teachers know their students best, the Department also requires schools to have student support plans for children with special educational needs. These plans are intended to enable schools to track the student's pathway through the continuum of support and to allow schools to document the student's progress over time. Critically, the student support plan assists schools in providing an appropriate level of support to the student in line with his or her ability and need. Typically the plan will document the student's needs and abilities as identified by teachers, the targets for improvement that have been set, as well as the measures being implemented to achieve those targets. The student support plan is a living document which is updated as the needs of the child change. It is agreed and shared with parents so that everyone is working towards the same common educational goals for the child. I know from my engagement with schools that these plans are an integral part of how schools support children with special educational needs.

However, mindful of the need to have greater levels of data and information regarding the prevalence of such plans for individual students, I will be requesting the NCSE to examine how schools might be supported to provide aggregated data as to the number of students being supported in schools. As I referenced earlier, schools have access to a considerable number of guidelines and resources to assist them in improving their provision, both generally and in the area of special education. That said, I am conscious that we can always improve our own work. I want schools to be well supported in their work to plan for individual students in particular because we need to get it right for our most vulnerable students. I will be asking my officials to consider how schools can be supported through the development of a quality assurance framework which will help to promote excellent practice in the preparation of plans for individual students and support schools, teachers and parents to collaborate on the optimal educational and care responses appropriate to each child's individual needs.

The Deputy mentioned the UNCRPD. We are currently considering the NCSE's policy advice on special educational provision which touches on many aspects of our school system. We will be consulting extensively with education stakeholders in addressing how we implement the recommendations contained in the report.

I support the intentions underpinning this Bill. I have acknowledged that it is both important and necessary to have system-level data and information relating to the prevalence of individual education plans in schools. It is also important to ensure that schools' work in this area is of a high standard. As I have outlined, a number of significant developments are either in progress or planned which will address the prevalence and quality issues that are raised in this Bill. However, these will require time in order to progress and for that reason, I am proposing a timed amendment. I thank the Deputies for raising these important matters and look forward to the debate.

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