Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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127. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of psychological assessments which have been undertaken by each SCPA service in each of the years 2012 to 2016 and to date in 2017. [23428/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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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 receive assessment services through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Under this scheme schools can have a student 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. SCPA is utilised, in the main, where as yet unfilled vacancies exist in NEPS staffing provision locally due to resignation or retirement, etc. or where staffing resource is lost temporarily through extended leave (maternity, sick or carer’s leave).

I might add that all schools are able to access full NEP supports in the event of a critical incident irrespective of their having ongoing access to an assigned NEPS psychologist or not.

I attach for the Deputy’s information a count by calendar year of the number of SCPA assessments paid for by my Department to schools countrywide.

Number by Year of Educational Psychological Assessments paid for by NEPS under the SCPA scheme for Schools nationally

Gerry Adams (Louth, Sinn Fein)
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128. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of psychological assessments which have been undertaken by the SCPA service in County Louth in each of the years 2012 to 2016 and to date in 2017. [23429/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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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 receive assessment services through the Scheme for Commissioning Psychological Assessments (SCPA). Under this scheme schools can have a student 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.  SCPA is utilised, in the main, where as yet unfilled vacancies exist in NEPS staffing provision locally due to resignation or retirement, etc. or where staffing resource is lost temporarily through extended leave (maternity, sick or carer’s leave).

I might add that all schools are able to access full NEP supports in the event of a critical incident irrespective of their having ongoing access to an assigned NEPS psychologist or not.

I attach for the Deputy’s information a count by calendar year of the number of SCPA assessments paid for by my Department to schools in County Louth.

Number by Year of Educational Psychological Assessments paid for by NEPS under the SCPA scheme for Schools in Co. Louth