Written answers

Wednesday, 5 December 2007

Department of Education and Science

Psychological Service

9:00 pm

Photo of Denis NaughtenDenis Naughten (Roscommon-South Leitrim, Fine Gael)
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Question 223: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to expand the National Educational Psychological Service; the average waiting time for a NEPS assessment; her plans to reduce the waiting time for such an assessment; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32641/07]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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All primary and post primary schools have access to psychological assessments either directly through my Department's 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.

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.

With the introduction of the General Allocation Model to primary schools in 2005, schools have an allocation of additional teaching time in order to assess and intervene where necessary with pupils with reading difficulties and/or dyslexia without the need for a psychological educational assessment. In cases where a pupil continues to present with significant difficulties after a number of interventions and reviews, the principal of the pupil's school can prioritise him/her for psychological assessment with the school's allocated NEPS psychologist. Parents of pupils with particular issues in this regard should make contact, in the first instance, with the Principal of the relevant school.

Schools that do not currently have NEPS psychologists assigned to them may avail of the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA under which 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. The prioritisation of urgent cases for assessment is a matter for the school principal of the school in the first instance.

I can inform the Deputy that this Government is committed to expanding the number of NEPS psychologists, so that more schools can receive a direct service. As part of this expansion, funding was made available earlier this year for 31 extra psychologists to be appointed to NEPS in 2007. The number of NEPS psychologists has increased from a total of 128 in April to a current level of 134. In all 9 psychologists have been recruited in this period but due to the normal effect of resignations and retirement the net increase is 6. In addition my Department has recently contracted a further 5 psychologists with 4 due to take up duty before years end. A further psychologist will take up duty in early January 2008.

The recruitment panel concerned is now exhausted and the Public Appointments Service has recently announced the commencement of a competition from which a new panel will be drawn to continue the recruitment process. The competition has been focussed on the appointment of psychologists outside the Dublin region. The deadline for receipt of applications in this regard has now passed and work is proceeding on the short-listing of candidates for interview. It is envisaged that the process will be completed and panels formed early in the new year allowing recruitment to re-commence soon after.

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