Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 506: To ask the Minister for Education and Science when a special needs assistant will be provided for a person (details supplied) in County Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26613/05]

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 507: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason resource hours have not been implemented for a person (details supplied) in County Offaly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26614/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 506 and 507 together.

I can confirm for the Deputy that the pupil in question has access to a full-time shared special needs assistant. As regards the provision of resource teaching support for this pupil, an application was made to the relevant special educational needs organiser, SENO, of the National Council for Special Education, NCSE. The application in question did not meet the criteria for resource teaching hours and this decision was communicated to the school. The NCSE will, however, undertake to review a decision on resource teaching supports on foot of a request from the school or parents-guardians when accompanied by relevant additional information which may not have been to hand at the time of the original decision. The NCSE has outlined this process in its circular 01/05.

Olwyn Enright (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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Question 508: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason resource hours have not been implemented for a person (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [26615/05]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, a new general allocation scheme has been introduced under which schools have been 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. My officials have been in contact with the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, which has confirmed that following examination of an application for additional support for the pupil in question, it was determined that his needs fall within the high incidence disability category. Therefore his needs fall to be met from within the school's allocation of 17.5 part-time hours under the new general allocation system. This outcome has been communicated to the school authorities on 22 August 2005.

The general allocation scheme is designed to ensure that each school has enough resource teaching hours to meet the needs of children with high incidence special needs, such as dyslexia and children with learning support needs. Resource teaching hours for children with low incidence special needs, such as hearing impairment, will continue to be provided on the basis of an individual application for each child.

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 has been allocated enough resource teaching hours to provide its pupils with a level of support appropriate to their needs. The school can 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 point is that the type of response needed depends on the child.

My Department has recently issued a comprehensive circular, Sp. Ed. 02/05, to all primary schools regarding the organisation of teaching resources for pupils who need additional support in mainstream primary schools. The main purpose of this circular is to provide guidance for schools on the deployment and organisation of the teaching resources that were allocated under the general allocation model. Reference is also made in this circular to the deployment of additional teaching resources that are allocated to schools for the support of individual pupils with low incidence disabilities.