Brendan Griffin (Kerry South, Fine Gael)
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527. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will reform the situation whereby psychological assessment allocation is equal for a mainstream school and for a mainstream school with an autism unit; if she will ensure that an allowance will be made for the school with an autism unit; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24560/15]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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I can inform the Deputy that my Department's National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides educational psychology service to all primary and post primary schools through an assigned NEPS psychologist and in some cases through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA), full details of which are on the Department's website. Under this scheme schools 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.

In common with many other psychological services and best international practice, NEPS has adopted a consultative model of service. The focus is on empowering teachers to intervene effectively with pupils whose needs range from mild to severe and transient to enduring. Psychologists use a problem solving and solution focused consultative approach to maximise positive outcomes for these pupils. NEPS encourages schools to use a continuum based assessment and intervention process whereby each school takes responsibility for initial assessment, educational planning and remedial intervention for pupils with learning, emotional or behavioural difficulties. Teachers may consult their NEPS psychologist should they need to at this stage in the process. Only in the event of a failure to make reasonable progress, in spite of the school's best efforts in consultation with NEPS, will the psychologist become involved with an individual child for intensive intervention or assessment.

This system allows 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.

For clarity, NEPS psychologists are not assigned to schools on the basis of a number of assessments to be delivered in each nor, as described above, does assessment constitute the sole support afforded to pupils with special needs. Psychologists are in fact allocated schools based on a weighting process which takes into account school size, DEIS status, gender mix, geographical spread and the presence of special units or classes. For the Deputy's information under this process a full-time equivalent psychologist will cater to a group of schools roughly equivalent to a 5,000:1 pupil to psychologist ratio.

My Department remains committed to the maintenance of the NEPs service to schools and I can inform the Deputy that current staffing resources stand at 183 (172 w.t.e.), including 5 temporary posts, the highest level since the establishment of the Service in 1999. Furthermore the process of engaging three additional psychologists is nearing completion.