Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 280: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her proposals to meet in full the special needs teaching requirements as set out by the school authorities in all primary schools throughout County Kildare; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8292/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Every effort is made to ensure that children with special educational needs receive an education appropriate to their needs. Decisions regarding the most appropriate model of response in each particular case are based on the professionally assessed needs of the individual child.

Children who have been assessed as having special educational needs have access to a range of special support services. The services range from special schools dedicated to particular disability groups, through special classes or units attached to ordinary schools to placement on an integrated basis in ordinary schools with special back up supports. My Department's policy is to ensure the maximum possible integration of children with special educational needs into ordinary mainstream schools. Many children with such needs are capable of attending mainstream schools on a fully integrated basis with the support, where necessary, of special resource teachers and or special needs assistants.

Children with more severe disabilities are catered for in special schools which are dedicated to particular disability groups. There are three special schools in operation in County Kildare at present catering for approximately 157 pupils with special needs with a pupil-teacher ratio ranging from 6:1 to 11:1. These schools cater for children from four to 18 years of age and each school enjoys a significantly reduced pupil-teacher ratio and other staffing supports. Additional special needs assistant support is provided if deemed necessary. Special schools also receive increased rates of capitation funding.

In addition to these special schools, I can confirm that the following special needs provision in County Kildare has been sanctioned by my Department to cater for the special educational needs, SEN, of pupils: nine special classes for pupils with autism at a pupil-teacher ratio of 6:1; six special classes for pupils with mild general learning disabilities at a pupil-teacher ratio of 11:1; one special class for pupils with moderate general learning disabilities at a pupil-teacher ratio of 8:1.

All special classes attached to ordinary mainstream schools enjoy the same increased levels of staffing and funding as are made available to the special schools. Children with special educational needs attending special classes attached to ordinary schools may, where appropriate, be integrated into ordinary classes for periods of the school day and in that way benefit from being able to socialise with their non-disabled peers.

My Department also provides funding for the saplings project, a facility sanctioned on a pilot basis which uses applied behavioural analysis methodologies for children with autism. There are approximately 30 children enrolled in the facility.

While children are awaiting a suitable educational placement my Department may sanction home tuition as an interim measure if appropriate.

In 1998 the Government took a decision which has transformed the level of provision for pupils with special educational needs, including those with mild and borderline mild general learning disabilities and dyslexia. Pupils with such needs are entitled to an automatic response to meet those needs and the allocation of resources to meet those needs no longer depends, as it had in the past, on the limited resources that were available. The response is instead based on the nature of the disability involved and once the required supporting professional assessments are made available the resources are automatically allocated. It was this decision which gave rise to an enormous expansion in resourcing levels in schools.

In light of the reality that pupils in the high incidence disability categories of mild and borderline mild general learning disability and dyslexia are distributed throughout the education system, my Department in consultation with educational interests developed a general model of resource teacher allocation to schools to support students in these disability categories. This model, which was announced by my predecessor in 2004 to come into effect from September 2005, was designed to put in place a permanent resource in primary schools to cater for pupils in these categories. The model was constructed so that allocations would be based on pupil numbers taking into account the differing needs of the most disadvantaged schools and the evidence that boys have greater difficulties than girls in this regard.

In light of the possible impact on small and rural schools I have asked my Department to conduct a review of the general allocation model. The review will be completed in the coming weeks and its outcome will be announced in time to be implemented for the next school year.

In the lower incidence disability categories resources will continue to be allocated on the basis of individual applications. It is important that where there is a particular and special need in the low incidence category these children are considered individually. These pupils are not evenly distributed among schools and a general allocation model would not be appropriate. However, the involvement of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the special education needs organisers will greatly enhance the speed of response to such applications.

I am confident that the advent of the NCSE will prove of major benefit in ensuring that all children with special educational needs, including those in County Kildare, receive the support they require when and where they require it.