Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I have met with special needs co-ordinators in Mayo and they have raised two serious issues with me. The first concerns students in mainstream classes with mild to moderate learning difficulties accessing the junior cycle level 2 learning programmes. These students required specialised special education needs teaching. However, the National Council for Special Education, under the auspices of the Department of Education, does not provide training in the level 2 learning programme to all mainstream teachers. Will the committee examine this?

Furthermore, the Department does not allocate specific teaching hours to school management to provide resources to enable these students to access their curriculum within the mainstream classes. These are and should be separate from or added to SEN hours under level 2 learning programme teaching. It is essential schools are allocated hours to provide specialised teaching for those accessing L2LP and L1LP within the mainstream classes. Will the Cabinet committee address those issues?

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