Written answers

Tuesday, 1 February 2005

Department of Education and Science

Special Educational Needs

8:00 pm

Photo of Enda KennyEnda Kenny (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 319: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a special resource teacher will be made available to a person (details supplied) in County Mayo in view of the circumstances involved; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2672/05]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department received an application for resource teaching support for the pupil referred to by the Deputy. The pupil did not qualify for resource teaching support on the basis of the application submitted and the school was notified of this in August 2004.

As the Deputy will be aware, my Department is proposing a new system for the allocation of resource teaching supports to pupils with special educational needs, SEN. This system will involve a general teaching allocation for all primary schools to cater for pupils with higher incidence, SEN, that is those with borderline mild and mild general learning disability, specific learning disability and also those with learning support needs. An additional 350 teacher posts are being provided to facilitate the introduction of the new system. The school referred to by the Deputy currently has the services of a shared learning support teacher and a shared resource teaching post. It would be expected that this pupil's SEN can be met from within the special needs teaching allocation available to the school. It is a matter for the school to deploy these resources to meet the SEN of the pupils in the school.

Photo of Emmet StaggEmmet Stagg (Kildare North, Labour)
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Question 320: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if sanction will be given for the provision of a special needs assistant and resource teaching hours to enable a person (details supplied) in County Kildare with autism to go to secondary school; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2673/05]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education, NCSE, has been established as an independent statutory body with responsibilities as set out in the National Council for Special Education (Establishment) Order 2003. With effect from 1 January 2005, the NCSE through local special educational needs organisers, SENOs, will process resource applications for children with special educational needs.

Where a pupil with special educational needs enrols in a post primary school, it is open to the school to apply to the local SENO for additional teaching support and or special needs assistant support for the pupil. My Department has recently issued circular letter PPT 01/05, advising the authorities of post-primary schools of the arrangements put in place as a result of the transfer of these functions to the NCSE.

My officials have been informed by the NCSE that no application for special educational needs support has been received by the council to date for the pupil concerned.

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