Margaret Murphy O'Mahony (Cork South West, Fianna Fail)
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287. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the way his Department is improving services and increasing supports for persons with disabilities during 2017. [34030/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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Funding for special education provision in 2017 will amount to some €1.68 billion, which is equivalent to approximately 19% of the gross overall current allocation for education and training and represents an increase in spending in this area of 12% over the last two years.

Funding in 2017 includes:

- Over 13,400 Special Education Teaching posts in mainstream primary and post primary schools for the 2017/2018 school year, to provide additional teaching support to pupils with special educational needs.

- 13,990 Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) which will be available for allocation to primary, post primary and special schools for the new school year, this is 975 more posts, or a 7% increase, in the number of posts over which were available last year.

- Over 1,400 teachers in 125 special schools.

- Almost 1,300 special classes which includes 160 new Special Classes sanctioned for the 2017/18 school year; this compares to 548 special classes in 2011.

- Enhanced capitation grants for special schools and special classes attached to mainstream primary and post primary schools.

- Teacher training and continuing professional development in the area of special education through the Special Education Support Service (SESS).

- Special school transport arrangements.

- Assistive technology/Specialised equipment.

- Home Tuition and July Provision Schemes.

- Special Arrangements for State Examinations.

- ESF Aided Fund for Students with Disabilities at 3^rdlevel.

- Vocational Training for people with disabilities.

- Adult Education – once off projects for disability in education.

The Deputy will be aware that, I announced recently that 975 additional SNAs will be available for allocation to schools from September 2017 which is a 7.5% increase to meet the demands for the new school year.  A total of 13,990 SNA posts will now be available at a gross annual cost of €458 million.  This is more SNAs than we have ever had previously and will ensure that all children who qualify for SNA support can continue to receive access to such support.  In total, the number of SNAs available has increased by over 32% since 2011, when 10,575 posts were available.

From September 2017, a new Special Education Teaching allocation process will be introduced, replacing the generalised allocation process at primary and post primary school level for learning support and high incidence special educational needs, and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) allocation process which provided additional resource teaching supports to schools, to support pupils assessed as having Low Incidence disabilities.  The aim of this new model is to deliver better outcomes for children with special educational needs. An additional 900 teaching posts have been provided for this purpose.

The development of a new Regional Support Service within the NCSE, established in March 2017, will mean that schools will receive better and more integrated support in the future. It will build on the existing good work and supports which the National Behaviour Support Service, the Special Education Support Service and Visiting Teacher Service currently provide to children and their families as well as to teachers and schools.

In addition, over 150 new Special Classes were sanctioned by the NCSE for the 2016/17 school year, while a further 160 special classes have now been approved for the coming school year, 2017/18, giving a total of 1,292 special classes, which is in comparison to 548 special classes in 2011.  125 special schools with over 1,400 teachers also provide specialist education for those pupils who need it.

In recent years, the NCSE has provided my Department with a number of policy advice papers on the provision of supports for children with special needs, all of which are available on the NCSE’s website.  It is intended to bring into effect many improvements to the provision of special educational needs support, through policy developments across a range of areas, in conjunction with NCSE policy advice.

As committed to in the Programme for a Partnership Government, the adequacy of the present policies and provision and their scope for improvement is being examined.

In response to a progress report from the NCSE on the comprehensive assessment it is undertaking of the SNA Scheme, I have requested the NCSE to establish a working group, comprising relevant stakeholders, to assist in proposing a better model for providing care supports so as to provide better outcomes for students with special educational needs who have additional care needs.

This Working Group will commence its work upon its appointment and the work will run in tandem with the completion of the Comprehensive Review of the SNA Scheme. It is intended that the reports of the Working group and of the Review will be completed in Spring 2018.

The Programme for a Partnership Government also states that a new model of In-School Speech and Language Therapy will be established.  As Speech and Language Therapists are currently employed by the Health Service Executive (HSE), officials at my Department are engaging with colleagues in the Department of Health and the HSE to review the existing level of Speech and language therapy provision and to conduct an audit of services nationally.

The HSE has reviewed the provision of Speech and Language Therapy services and the report is currently being considered by the National Directors for Primary Care and for Social Care.  The review of existing services will guide the implementation of the Programme for Government commitment.

My Department has convened an Implementation Group, following the launch of the NCSE's Policy Advice on Autism in 2016, with representatives of the NCSE, NEPS, the Inspectorate and external representatives to ensure that the Report’s recommendations are fully and appropriately considered and that a timetable for implementation is prepared. 

I can confirm that this Government will continue to ensure that the supports required, to ensure that all children with special educational needs can continue to participate in education, will be provided.