Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 418: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of National Educational Psychological Service psychologists there are; and her views on whether this number is sufficient. [26790/06]

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

Since the establishment of my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) in 1999, the number of psychologists in the NEPS has increased from 43 to 122 at present — this includes 3 psychologists from the former National Rehabilitation Board (NRB) assigned to work with NEPS and 1 psychologist serving with another Section in my Department. A number of these posts are filled on a work-sharing basis.

The Public Appointments Service recently concluded a new recruitment competition for the appointment of Educational Psychologists to NEPS. Regional panels have been established to allow my Department give greater priority in filling vacancies to areas with the greatest need. It is expected that a further 9 psychologists will be in place before the end of 2006.

All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through the NEPS or through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are available on my Department's website. Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the SCPA, whereby the school can have an assessment carried out by a member of the panel of private psychologists approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the psychologist the fees for this assessment directly. Details of this process and the conditions that apply to the scheme are available on my Department's Website. The prioritisation of urgent cases for assessment is a matter for the school principal in the first instance.

In common with many other psychological services, NEPS encourages a staged assessment process, whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention, in consultation with their assigned NEPS psychologist. Only if there is a failure to make reasonable progress in spite of the school's best efforts will a child be referred for individual psychological assessment. This system allows the psychologists to give early attention to urgent cases and also to help many more children indirectly than could be seen individually.

It also ensures that children are not referred unnecessarily for psychological intervention. The General Allocation of resources to primary schools ensures that many children can receive additional teaching without the requirement of psychological assessment. Children who manifest very special needs in school and who have not been previously assessed by a psychologist and are brought to the attention of a NEPS psychologist by the Principal teacher will normally be assessed by the psychologist within that school term. Where schools consider that they have additional problems, they should contact the NEPS psychologist directly or make contact with the NEPS Regional Director for their region. Contact details are available on my Department's website.

NEPS provides assistance to all schools and school communities that experience critical incidents, regardless of whether or not they have a NEPS psychologist assigned to them. Also, in relation to all schools, NEPS processes applications for Reasonable Accommodation in Certificate Examinations and responds to queries in relation to individual children from other sections of my Department and from the specialist agencies.