Finian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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287. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if he will ensure that all children with IP 36 deletion receive the maximum resource teaching house in mainstream primary schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [9244/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that resource teaching/learning support is available for all pupils with assessed syndromes, including IP 36 deletion syndrome.

Pupils with IP 36 deletion syndrome attending mainstream schools may receive additional teaching support in primary schools, either under the terms of the General Allocation Model (GAM) of teaching supports, if the pupil's educational psychological assessment places the pupil in the mild general learning disability/high incidence disability category, or through an allocation of individual additional resource teaching hours which are allocated to schools by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), if the child is assessed as being within the low incidence category of special need, as defined by my Department's Circular Sp Ed 02/05.

Pupils with IP 36 deletion syndrome may therefore be allocated resources under the category of mild general learning disability, or under the categories of moderate general learning difficulty or Assessed Syndrome, in conjunction with another Low Incidence disability.

It is a matter for schools to manage the use of their resource teaching hours and to allocate teaching provision to qualifying pupils, taking into account the individual needs of those pupils.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has a formal role under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, 2004 in advising me in relation to any matter relating to the education of children and others with disabilities.

The NCSE report on Supporting Children with Special Educational Needs in Schools has now been published and is available on the NCSE website www.ncse.ie. The report recommends that under the new resource allocation model proposed by the NCSE in its report, children should be allocated additional resources in line with their level of need, rather than by disability category.

The NCSE has established a Working Group to develop a proposal for consideration for a new Tailored Allocation Model, which is set out as one of the principal recommendations of the report. I understand that the Working Group will report its findings before the end of spring 2014.