Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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775.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills further to Parliamentary Question No. 578 of 17 January 2024, if she will provide an update on any engagement her Department has had with the National Council for Special Education on her Department’s request to include in its 2024 research programme an examination of educational outcomes for the deaf and hard of hearing; to provide an estimated date of completion for the 2024 research programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32442/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The primary objective of special education provision is to ensure that each child receives an education appropriate to his or her needs. A very significant element of the Department’s budget is expended on special education provision each year and the number of teachers and SNAs employed in this area has risen to the point that approximately 40,000 persons are employed to teach and provide for the care needs of children and young people with special educational needs. The Department can provide data on educational outcomes for children and young people in the education system generally through the results of State Examinations, standardised literacy and numeracy tests and international literacy, numeracy and science tests. However, the Department does not currently gather or publish outcomes-related information for students with disabilities.

The Department can confirm that the NCSE does not hold data regarding educational attainment of children who are deaf and/or hard of hearing. While the visiting teachers engage extensively with parents and schools, they do not record any results of tests or examinations. The Department has engaged with the NCSE and has asked NCSE to consider a study of outcomes for those children who are under the visiting teacher service. It is intended that the results of this, which will be provided towards the end of the current year, will inform the focus of a working group the Department has established to examine the broader issue of outcomes for students with special educational needs.

The group will consider how best to support schools to monitor and report on the outcomes attained by children and young people with special educational needs, including, but not limited to, student engagement, attainment, attendance, wellbeing and participation, happiness, independence, and progress. This system will also facilitate schools to describe and share good practice. The group will also work to develop a process to gather data at system level on the outcomes attained by children and young people with special educational needs. Data and information arising from this work will be used to inform the development of future policy for special educational needs provision.