Richard Bruton (Dublin North Central, Fine Gael)
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Question 519: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of special needs assistants per thousand pupils at second level compared to primary level; the number of resource teachers per thousand pupils at second level compared to primary level; the number of assessments provided per thousand pupils at second level compared to primary level; and if she will make a statement on the disparity in development of special needs provision at the respective levels. [16545/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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As the Deputy is aware, there has been enormous progress made over the past number of years in relation to increasing the number of teachers in our schools who are specifically dedicated to providing education for children with special educational needs.

I can confirm that there are approximately 450,000 children enrolled in primary schools nationwide. At primary level there are now approximately 5,000 teachers in our primary schools working directly with children with special needs, including those requiring learning support. Indeed, one out of every five primary school teachers is now working specifically with children with special needs. In addition, there are currently 6,487 wholetime equivalent special needs assistants employed in primary schools catering for the care needs of pupils with special educational needs.

There are approximately 335,000 pupils currently enrolled in our second level schools and approximately 1654 whole time equivalent additional teachers are in place to support pupils with special educational needs. This compares to the approximately 200 teachers that were in place in 1998 for such pupils. In addition, there are 532 whole time equivalent learning support teachers and approximately 1,100 whole time equivalent special needs assistants in our second level schools.

The general allocation model at primary level is based on the premise that all primary schools have children with learning support or high incidence special educational needs. Early intervention support at primary ensures that many children do not need additional support at second level.

The substantial growth in special education services at second level in recent years reflects the reality that significant numbers of pupils, who had been in receipt of special support in the primary sector from 1999 onwards, are now transferring to the second level system.

The precise model of provision made available at second level will depend on the assessed needs of the pupils involved. Some pupils are capable of attending ordinary classes on an integrated basis with additional teacher and/or special needs assistant support. In other cases, placement in special dedicated classes or units attached to the school may be the more appropriate response. Such special classes operate at significantly reduced pupil teacher ratios. Pupils attached to these special classes may be facilitated in attending ordinary subject classes on an integrated basis wherever possible.

With effect from 1 January 2005, the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has taken over key functions from my Department in relation to special educational provision. The NCSE was formally established as an independent statutory body on the 1st October 2005 under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2005. The Council acts under the broad policy direction of my Department but has the resources and the remit to play the leading role in the delivery of education services to children with disabilities/special needs.

The NCSE co-ordinates with the health services, schools and other relevant bodies regarding the provision of education and related support services to children with disabilities/special needs.

The responsibilities of the NCSE include the following: deciding on applications for additional teaching support in respect of children with disabilities with special educational needs at second level; deciding on applications for special needs assistant (SNA) hours; processing applications for school placement in respect of children with disabilities with special education needs.

Under the new arrangements, the Council, through the local Special Educational Needs Organiser (SENO) will process the relevant application for resources and inform the school of the outcome. It is important to note that in the case of decisions on additional teaching and SNA support, the SENO will outline the process to the school and parents, where appropriate, and will at the end of the process outline the basis on which the decision was made.

All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA) that is administered by NEPS and full details of which are available on my Department's website.

Since the establishment of the NEPS in 1999, the number of NEPS psychologists has increased from 43 to 122 at present. In common with many other psychological services, NEPS operates a staged model of service to schools, whereby an initial referral usually leads to a consultation and provision of advice to teachers and parents on appropriate teaching and management strategies. Progress is kept under review and only those children who fail to respond to these interventions will need to see a psychologist. This allows psychologists to offer early appointments to children who are in urgent need of support and early advice to teachers in respect to those children whose needs are perhaps less pressing but who still need additional help in school. NEPS is committed to early intervention with pupils with Special Educational Needs in primary schools in order to address the needs of such pupils at the earliest point in their schooling. Support for such students in second level schools is likely to be based on a review of needs rather than a repeat of the formal psycho-educational assessment. Trends in assessment numbers would indicate that assessments in primary schools are at an approximate ratio of 2:1 compared to such assessments undertaken in post primary schools.

My Department will continue to ensure that the necessary resources are made available for the education of children with special needs. I am confident that the advent of the NCSE will prove of major benefit in ensuring that all children with special educational needs receive the support they require, when and where they require it.