David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 442: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children who have had an educational assessment carried out under the National Educational Psychological Service scheme each year since the establishment of NEPS; the number of children currently awaiting an assessment; the number of assessments carried out under the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments in the same period; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40288/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I set out below for the Deputies information a count of the number of assessments delivered since the establishment of NEPs in 1999 by NEPs psychologists and under the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). NEPS does not keep waiting lists for assessments of children but in common with other psychological services 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.

Children who manifest very special or urgent 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 usually be assessed by the psychologist within that school term. Normally, principals of schools prioritise those children in need of psychological assessment in consultation with the assigned psychologist.

Community colleges and vocational schools in the Dublin area have access to psychological services provided by the two VEC committees. In the case of schools that do not currently have dedicated NEPS psychologists assigned to them such schools have access to educational psychological assessments through the SCPA. Under this Scheme, schools can commission assessments from a member of the panel of private practitioners approved by NEPS, and NEPS will pay the fees directly to the psychologist concerned.

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. NEPS also provides psychological services to schools in Dublin for children with visual impairment and for children with hearing impairment. Since the establishment of the NEPS in 1999, the number of NEPS psychologists has increased from 43 to 123 at present. Four psychologists have recently been assigned to the National Behaviour Support Service of my Department and my Department is currently in the process of replacing those psychologists from an established panel resulting from a recruitment competition of last year.

Development of psychological services must be seen in the context of all the initiatives and support services introduced by my Department in recent years, including the general allocation of resources to all schools, the DEIS programme, the establishment of the NBSS referred to above and the development of the NCSE (National Council for Special Education) and of the NEWB (National Education and Welfare Board).

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 443: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if, with reference to the scheme for commissioning psychological assessments, her Department provides funding to pay for the travelling expenses of the private psychologists approved by the National Educational Psychological Service; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [40289/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The Deputy will be aware that 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). 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.