Malcolm Noonan (Carlow-Kilkenny, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I am also taking this matter on behalf of the Minister for Education. I thank the Senator for making his points so well. I pay tribute to all schools that are adapting and consistently implementing best practice in teaching and integrating children with additional needs in school. Some very impressive work in that regard is going on throughout the country.

This year, the Department of Education will spend in excess of €2 billion, or more than 25% of its budget, on providing a wide range of schemes and supports for children with special educational needs. Through the initial teacher education programmes, providing inclusive education to children with special educational needs, including those with dyslexia, is a fundamental principle of the Department's education and training system. Under section 38 of the Teaching Council Act 2001, all initial teacher education programmes must be accredited by the Teaching Council for registration purposes. The first cycle of the review and accreditation of the programmes was completed by the council in 2015. In preparation for the next cycle of the review and accreditation process, the council reviewed its policy on standards for programmes of initial teacher education and published updated standards in November 2020. Inclusive education has been strengthened in the revised standards, which recognise the diverse range of needs teachers encounter in the course of their teaching, regardless of setting, and refer specifically to additional learning needs such as autism, dyslexia and dyspraxia in this context. As part of the review and accreditation process, all programmes of initial teacher education will have to provide evidence of how the core elements are explored and examined with student teachers during their programme, which should offer some promise in respect of what the Senator raised.

In the context of continuing professional development, the Department provides a range of placement options and supports for schools that have enrolled pupils with special educational needs, including pupils with a specific leaming disability, such as dyslexia, to ensure that wherever a child is enrolled, he or she will have access to an appropriate education. The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, a separate statutory agency, is responsible, through its network of local special educational needs organisers, for the provision of special educational needs supports to schools. The NCSE supports schools to build their capacity to support the inclusion of all children through a suite of professional learning opportunities. Each of the seminars and resources, designed within the council, has been aligned with Cosán, the national framework for teacher learning. This year, for example, the NCSE is offering the following seminars and workshops for teachers in the area of dyslexia: supporting dyslexia through the use of apps for primary teachers; teaching students with literacy difficulties, including dyslexia, for primary and post-primary teachers; assistive technology freeware for dyslexia; and literacy for students with autism. The Professional Development Service for Teachers, through its primary language, literacy, reading recovery and Gaeilge supports for teachers, promotes inclusive pedagogies and approaches that benefit all learners, including early literacy intervention models. The new primary language curriculum and support materials are based on best practice grounded in research for language and literacy for all learners in all contexts.