Liam Aylward (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 674: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the progress to date on an appeal lodged by this Deputy on behalf of a person (details supplied) in County Kilkenny who is in need of special needs services. [22103/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A new general allocation scheme has been announced under which schools will be provided with resource teaching hours, based on their enrolment figures, to cater for children with high incidence special needs such as dyslexia and those with learning support needs. The local special educational needs organiser has determined that the special educational needs of the pupil in question fall within the high incidence disability categories and his needs, therefore, continue to be catered for from within the school's general allocation.

The general allocation for the school in question is ten part-time hours. It is a matter for each school to determine the pupils with high incidence special education and learning support needs who will receive this support. Each school will have enough resource teaching hours to provide its pupils with a level of support appropriate to their needs. The school can then use its professional judgement to decide how these hours are divided between different children in the school, to ensure that all their needs are met.

Research shows that some children with special needs will respond better with one-to-one tuition. Others, however, do better when taught in small groups. Often it is best for resource teachers to work with children in the classroom rather than taking them away to a separate room, as the children then have to catch up work done by the rest of the class in their absence. The point is that the type of response needed depends on the child.