Thomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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59. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the length of time it takes for children to be publicly assessed by the National Educational Psychological Service; his further views on whether these waiting times are acceptable; and the measures his Department is taking to improve access to psychological assessment for school children. [1897/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The Deputy will be aware 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).

NEPS does not maintain waiting lists but, 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 oriented 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.

I can inform the Deputy that once a pupil referral to NEPS is agreed an assessment is normally undertaken and a formal report submitted to parents and school authorities within an average of 9 weeks. This data is derived from the NEPS Casetrack system which records short-hand details of NEPS psychologist pupil referrals.

I can also inform the Deputy that these time differentials do not accurately reflect the gap in time between the raising of a referral and the provision of advice and support to the school and parents on the concerns raised in relation to children undergoing assessment. This in fact is usually imparted much earlier through post assessment feedback followed by a later provision of a formal written report.

My Department, over the course of recent economic difficulties, has not only maintained psychologist staffing levels within NEPS, but has increased them by some 10% since late 2008, to 165 whole time equivalent (w.t.e. psychologists currently employed. A process is currently in place to fill vacancies in the coming months and bring the staffing complement up to the approved level of 173 w.t.e posts.

The Programme for a Partnership Government commits that we will invest additional resources in the National Educational Psychological Service to ensure earlier intervention and access for young children and teenagers and to offer immediate support to schools in cases of critical incidents. The Programme commits to bring the total number of NEPS psychologists to 238.