Willie Penrose (Westmeath, Labour)
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Question 415: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a person (details supplied) in County Westmeath, who has had a report prepared on them by the clinical psychologist; and which has been submitted to her Department will be provided with the resource hours specified therein, in order to help them to fulfil their educational attainment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23064/05]

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 can, therefore, be catered for from within the school's general allocation. The general allocation for the school in question is one full-time post and 2.5 part-time hours. It is a matter for each school to determine the pupils with high incidence special education and learning support needs that 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 judgment 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 type of response needed depends on the child.