Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 215: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to ensure that all teachers receive access to in-service education in key areas such as child protection, English as an additional language and special education in view of the fact that all teachers have responsibilities in these areas; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [22041/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the opportunity to outline my Department's proposals in relation to in service training in key areas such as child protection, English as an additional language and special education.

The Child Abuse Prevention Programme (CAPP) and the Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) support services have responsibility for child protection training at primary and post primary level respectively. My Department has now been able to identify the schools where there is a deficiency in training and the respective support services have been requested to target these schools in their training. In addition to these schools training will also be targeted at new appointees who have responsibility as Designated Liaison Person or Deputy Designated Liaison Person under the Child Protection Guidelines.

The provision of continuous professional development for language support teachers is a key issue for my Department and to this end officials in my Department have prepared a detailed proposal in relation to developing continuous professional development opportunities for teachers to assist them in meeting the needs of newcomer pupils. This proposal is currently under consideration.

In the interim my Department will continue to provide continuous professional development opportunities for language support teachers through Integrate Ireland Language and Training (IILT) and summer/online courses. Details of further supports available to teachers and advice in relation to meeting the needs of newcomer pupils are detailed in the recent Department Circular 0053/2007.

In the area of Special Educational Needs my Department currently funds the provision of a post-graduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs and Learning Support through seven colleges/universities. This is available to teachers at primary and post-primary level. My Department also funds a Graduate Certificate in the Education of Pupils with Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and Masters in Special Educational Needs (MSEN).

In addition, my Department funds an online certificate and Diploma in Special Educational Needs through St Patrick's College in Drumcondra, jointly with the Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe. My Department also provides summer courses to train teachers in a wide variety of special educational needs. Continuing professional development and support is provided through the Special Education Support Service (SESS). The SESS has provided training for professional development of over 15000 teachers in areas such as Autistic Spectrum Disorder, Dyslexia and challenging behaviour. They have also provided targeted support for post-primary schools. Funding is also provided through the SESS for online training in Managing Student Behaviour, Inclusion, Dyslexia, Understanding Autism, ADHD, Applied Behaviour Analysis, Gifted and Talented Students and Teaching Troubled Children. These online courses are run by the Institute of Child Education and Psychology Europe. SESS provide a Local Initiatives Scheme which involves provision of professional development and support at individual teacher, school and/or group level, as identified by the individual teacher, school and/or group, across all areas of Special Education. Funding was provided for a range of courses including PECS, TEACCH, Sensory Integration, Asperger's Syndrome, Lámh, Floor Time, and Challenging Behaviour.

The provision of further training opportunities for teachers in the area of special education is also being considered by the Department in the context of the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs act.