Written answers

Wednesday, 6 March 2019

Department of Education and Skills

Special Educational Needs Service Provision

Photo of Tommy BroughanTommy Broughan (Dublin Bay North, Independent)
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95. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps he is taking to provide critical individual education planning for children with Down's syndrome; when all sections of the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act 2004 will be fully commenced; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [11004/19]

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that all schools are encouraged to plan effectively for the delivery of additional teaching or care supports for children with special educational needs, including for children with Down syndrome.

Effective planning ensures that the school’s resources are deployed efficiently and that they achieve the desired outcomes. 

Under the Education Act 1998, schools are under statutory obligations to “provide education to students which is appropriate to their abilities and needs” and to “ensure that the educational needs of all students, including those with a disability or other special educational needs, are identified and provided for”. 

Planning is a normal part of a teacher’s work and planning tools, like the student support file, have been created as a resource to help schools provide for their students.

Circulars 0013 and 0014 2017, which introduced the model for allocating special education teachers to schools, noted the importance of educational planning. This is in the context of ensuring that the children with the greatest level of need receive the greatest level of support.

The Circulars note that educational planning is an essential element of a whole-school approach to meeting pupils’ needs.

Guidelines for schools on educational planning and monitoring of outcomes through the Student Support File, are contained in the Guidelines for Primary and Post primary Schools: Supporting Children and Young People with Special Educational Needs in Mainstream Schools.

All schools are therefore encouraged to use Education Plans or Student Support plans for children who are receiving additional teaching or care in schools.

Whereas there is not currently a statutory requirement for schools to provide a particular form of Individual Education Plan, it is evident that the majority of schools do use some form of education planning to plan and record the support that they provide for pupils with special educational needs. This is considered to be both beneficial for schools and children and is regarded as best practice. 

The ongoing provision of planning will represent a continuation of the good practice that is occurring in the majority of schools.

With regard to the implementation of the Education for Persons with Special Needs (EPSEN) Act 2004, I can advise that a number of sections of the  EPSEN) Act have been commenced. The commenced provisions include those establishing the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and those providing for an inclusive approach to the education of children with special educational needs.

The remaining sections of the Act have yet to be commenced.  

The NCSE estimated, in its implementation Plan which was developed in 2006, that additional investment over a period of years of up to €235m per annum, across the education and health sectors, would be required to fully implement the EPSEN Act.

The view of the Department of Education and Skills was that the level of investment required could be significantly greater than that envisaged in the NCSE report. Legal advice provided to that Department also indicated that the EPSEN Act, as it is currently constituted, may not be implemented on a phased, or age cohort, basis.

The Government is committed to helping every child, particularly those with special educational needs, to fulfil their potential.

In 2018 my Department invested over €1.75 Billion in this area - 1/5 of my Department's budget and up 42% since 2011, at which point €1.24 Billion was invested. This increased investment has allowed the Government to increase the number of:

SNAs by 42%, from 10,575 in 2011 to 15,000 at present.

Special classes by 160% to over 1,450 at present, compared to 548 special classes in 2011.

Special education teachers by 37%, from 9,740 in 2011, to over 13,400 at present.

Under the Programme for a Partnership Government, I have committed to consulting with stakeholders on how best to progress aspects of the Act on a non-statutory basis.

A range of consultations with Education Partners and Stakeholders took place in relation to the development of the new model for allocating special education teachers over the course of 2017. The new model was introduced for all schools from September 2017.

Further consultations took place with education partners and stakeholders in the context of the undertaking of a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme and will continue in relation to the implementation of recommendations contained in this report.

Consultations also took place in relation to providing power to the National Council for Special Educational need to designate a school place for a person with special educational needs, which is now provided for in the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018.

While awaiting the full implementation of the EPSEN Act, the NCSE has also published a number of policy advice papers which make recommendations aimed at developing a better or more effective alternative to the current resource allocation model, and which aims to move the system towards ultimate implementation of the EPSEN Act.

It is therefore intended to bring into effect many of the good ideas contained in the EPSEN Act, on a non-statutory basis initially, through policy developments across a range of areas, in conjunction with NCSE policy advice. Full consultation will also take place with stakeholders before adjustments are made.

I can assure you that this Government will continue to prioritise investment in the area of special education support and I am confident that ongoing investment and reform will continue to see improvements made in this area.

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