Dáil debates

Thursday, 13 May 2021

Ceisteanna Eile - Other Questions

Special Educational Needs

11:50 am

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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77. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of additional special class teachers in 2021; the number of additional special class places that the additional recruitment has provided; and if speech and language therapists, among others, are being directly recruited by the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. [24785/21]

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Will the Minister indicate the number of additional special class teachers in 2021, the number of special class places provided by way of additional recruitment and whether speech and language therapists, among others, are being directly recruited by the NCSE?

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for his question. In budget 2021, as he knows, we secured an unprecedented investment of €2 billion dedicated to the provision of special education, which is one fifth of the entire education budget. Included in that was provision for approximately 235 speech and language therapy teachers. In addition, we got an extra 1,000 special needs assistants, SNAs, which takes us to an unprecedented total of 18,000 SNAs in the education system. SNAs are critical to assisting children in mainstream classes and, indeed, in special schools and special classes. Ensuring we have enough teaching staff within the school system is something we always need to advocate for on behalf of children with special needs. It is always important that we have dedicated teachers for this sector, as opposed to trying to use other teachers in the system. In my conversations with SNAs, they often tell me that they should not be used for any other care or duty other than looking after children with special needs. That is something for which I fully advocate.

I take this opportunity to mention the expanded summer provision, which offers a significant increase on what was available last year. The eligibility is now extended to 81,000 pupils. For the first time, all 4,000 schools in the country will be in a position to apply for funding to run the summer programme. Last year, for example, it was just primary schools and special schools that could apply. There is an unprecedented allocation of €40 million for the programme, which is double the funding that was given last year. That will go some way to assisting the participation of schools in the project.

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State and acknowledge the tremendous work she has done within the Department. Having a dedicated Minister of State with responsibility for special education was an important move. I acknowledge her announcement regarding the summer programme, which is very welcome.

I want to raise an issue regarding Department of Education Circular 38/07, which outlines the criteria for enrolment in special classes of pupils with specific speech and language disorders. It requires that a full-time teacher be assigned to each class, that classes operate with a reduced pupil-teacher ratio of 7:1 and that eligible pupils may spend up to two years in such a class. As we know, some pupils with special needs have been seriously impacted by the Covid crisis. I know of a seven-year-old girl in County Mayo who has lost out on 35% of the time in her specific speech and language class. I am asking that an amendment be made to the circular in the light of the pandemic.

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Deputy for pointing that out. There is a special education review committee that deals with the resourcing of special classes with teachers and SNAs. Allocations are determined under those terms. When we talk about special classes, we know there should be two SNAs and one teacher per special class, if there are only six children in the class. That should be the number. If there is a difficulty with adhering to that, I suggest that the school in question should get in contact with either the NCSE or the Department. The NCSE's comprehensive review of the SNA scheme, published in May 2018, found that the scheme as currently configured worked well in meeting the needs of the children for whom it was originally designed. It is very important that every child who has special educational needs gets the support and resources he or she needs within a particular class. I ask the Deputy to bring the particular case he raised to my attention later.

Photo of Alan DillonAlan Dillon (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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I thank the Minister of State for her response. I recognise that the opening of speech and language classes is contingent on the HSE's having resources available to provide speech and language therapy to students. I emphasise the importance of this provision for parents looking to access services for their children. In a large county like Mayo, we have two dedicated speech and language classes, one of which is in Ballina. I understand that there are 46 such classes throughout the country. This service is something on which we can improve, working in co-operation with the NCSE and the HSE to identify additional resources and requirements for classrooms.

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I should have said at the outset that separately from and in addition to the HSE supports for speech and language therapy, we are operating a demonstration project around the school inclusion model. That project was approved by Government in February 2019 and began operating in community healthcare organisation, CHO, 7, encompassing Dublin, Kildare and west Wicklow. It was disrupted because of Covid but it will be a transformative model for children with special needs into the future. Under this model, pupils will have access to bespoke, tailored therapeutic supports in situ, provided by speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, behavioural practitioners and other therapists.

They will be able to use their professional relationships and expertise to assist in the best interests of the child and for her or him to reach her or his full potential into the future.

12:00 pm

Photo of Catherine ConnollyCatherine Connolly (Galway West, Independent)
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I know some Deputies are waiting but, unfortunately, that completes Question Time for today. I thought I might get to another few Deputies, but the Tánaiste is here so we will move on.

Written Answers are published on the Oireachtas website.