Dara Calleary (Mayo, Fianna Fail)
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412. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there is provision for children with special needs to attend preschool for an additional year rather than commence primary school at six years of age; his views on whether such children would benefit from a second year in preschool rather than commencing primary school at six years of age; his further views on whether some children with additional needs are not ready to complete preschool at three years of age or to commence primary school at five years of age; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [1297/18]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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My Department does not provide funding to pre-school services other than to early intervention classes in recognised primary schools or special schools.  Supports for childcare, including pre-school education, are provided by the Department of Children and Youth Affairs.

The principal vehicle for the delivery of pre-school education is the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Scheme which provides early childhood care and education for children of pre-school age. 

Since ECCE was first introduced, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs has worked to improve the pre-school experience for children with disabilities and to optimise their early development.

The two main enhancements are:

- ECCE entitlement currently averages at 61 weeks, up from 38 weeks, and it will expand further to 76 weeks from September 2018. This is in keeping with good international practice.

- The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) has been introduced with 7 different levels of support for children with disabilities. Over 4,000 children have so far benefited from targeted supports and many multiples of this from universal supports available under AIM.

Details of the supports which are available under AIM can be found at www.preschoolaccess.ie which contains comprehensive information on the access and inclusion model and on how to apply for the new schemes and supports. 

Overage exemptions were introduced at the commencement of the ECCE programme in 2010. At that time, the ECCE Programme only operated for a 38 week period, or one programme year. 

For some children with special/additional needs, attending preschool five days a week, in the absence of targetted supports such as those provided for under AIM, was considered challenging and so an allowance was made to enable them split ECCE over 2 years, for example, a child may have availed of 3 days ECCE provision in year one and 2 days in year two. Their total ECCE provision remained at 38 weeks.

In order to facilitate this, in the cases where the child would have been over the age limit for ECCE (5 years and 6 months when finishing ECCE) an overage exemption was approved. This flexibility was never intended to conflict with the legislative requirement to start school by age six and the primary school system has a variety of resources to support children with disabilities.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs in collaboration with officials of my Department are currently commissioning a review of the overage exemption arrangements and I understand that the exemption arrangements have been retained pending the completion of that review

The policy of my Department is to ensure that all children with Special Educational Needs can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in age appropriate school settings through the primary and post primary school network.

Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.

My Department’s policy is that all children must be enrolled in the primary school system, whether through placement in mainstream classes, in special classes or in special schools in the September prior to their sixth birthday. If children are not in school by six years of age, under the Education Welfare Act 2000, the Educational Welfare service must be satisfied that the child is receiving a minimum standard of education in a place other than a recognised school. At present there are no plans to amend this policy.