Results 5,441-5,460 of 8,873 for speaker:Batt O'Keeffe

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I look forward to receiving the report of the review of special classes and special schools but I do not accept any criticism that my Department has moved ahead of this report. The closure of these classes is in line with departmental policy going back many years.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: Some schools have opted voluntarily to stop the classes and integrate the children into an age-appropriate mainstream class.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: These classes predated my Department's initiative to allocate additional learning teaching supports to schools to enable them to cater for the needs of pupils with high incidence special needs, including a mild general learning disability. My Department has always recognised that pupils with mild general learning disabilities may need additional teaching and care supports to enable them to...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I am disappointed with the Opposition's motion.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: The Opposition may not have intended to prey on the vulnerabilities of parents of pupils with or without special educational needs.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: However, this is the result. I take this opportunity to reassure parents that teachers and schools are working on a daily basis to deliver an excellent education to their children. These teachers should be congratulated on the difference they make in these children's lives. For students with special educational needs, placement in mainstream education provides increased opportunities to...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: There is a tendency for students with special educational needs to be more motivated and work harder in the inclusive classroom. An inclusive setting can expand a student's personal interests and knowledge of the world to prepare him or her for better post-school experiences and adulthood. For students without special educational needs, inclusion provides many benefits. It helps them to...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: Experience of inclusive education can help everyone in the school community to prepare for a future inclusive society. All students can benefit from having two teachers in the classroom during co-operative teaching. Teachers are more apt to break instruction into finer parts, repeat directions, coach students in the use of learning strategies and offer individualised support when a student...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I note that a concern of the Opposition is that my Department did not consult with the NCSE and all the partners in this decision. The reality is that the rules governing the retention of such posts have been in existence since 1999 and have been operational since that time.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: On its introduction in 2005, the Department undertook to carry out a review of the general allocation model after three years of operation. This review is now under way and is expected to be completed in 2009. As part of the review, the Department of Education and Science consulted the relevant partners in education. I am pleased to be able to advise the House that the general allocation...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I remind the House of what was available for children with special educational needs in 1997. There was no automatic entitlement to either teaching or care supports; provision for children with special needs in mainstream schools was virtually non-existent; and not all schools had resource or learning support teachers.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: There were only 252 special needs assistants in total, with virtually all of these employed in special schools, and if a child had any significant educational or care need, parents had no choice but to enrol him or her in special schools where the child would have access to exceptional teachers and care staff but little opportunity to mix with other children from the community. In 1998, the...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: Whereas ten years ago, most parents of children with significant special education or care needs had no choice but to send them to a special school, now they have three distinct choices available to them. Their child can either attend a mainstream class in their local school with additional supports as required; if the child has a low incidence special need, he or she can attend a special...

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I will finish up, although I wanted to deal with the EPSEN Act. The speech will be recorded in the records of the House. We will continue to expand the educational-psychological service so that every school in the country will have a direct service for NEPS.

Special Educational Needs: Motion. (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: This year, out of the €10 million, we will provide an extra 50 psychologists so that every part of the country will have that psychological service. We will continue to work with the NCSE to ensure that the provision of services for children with special educational needs is provided in a co-ordinated and effective manner. We will also continue to fund the provision of expert support,...

Written Answers — Special Educational Needs: Special Educational Needs (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: As the Deputy will be aware, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is responsible, through its network of local Special Educational Needs Organisers (SENOs), for allocating resource teachers and Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to schools to support children with special needs. The NCSE operates within my Department's criteria in allocating such support. All schools have the...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has made an application to my Department for large scale capital funding for an extension and refurbishment project. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band 2.1 rating. The progression of all large scale building projects,...

Written Answers — Schools Refurbishment: Schools Refurbishment (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: As I indicated in my reply to Dáil Question No. 704 answered on 22nd April last, the application from the school in question is being re-examined in the context of the funding available in 2009. The school authorities will be advised of the outcome as quickly as possible.

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has made an application to my Department for large scale capital funding for a new school building. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band 2.2 rating. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project,...

Written Answers — Schools Building Projects: Schools Building Projects (6 May 2009)

Batt O'Keeffe: I can confirm that the school to which the Deputy refers has made an application to my Department for large scale capital funding for a new school building. The application has been assessed in accordance with the published prioritisation criteria for large scale building projects and assigned a band 2.2 rating. The progression of all large scale building projects, including this project,...