Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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661. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will investigate the suitability of the Reading Recovery programme for those with dyslexia; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30198/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.?

It is important to recognise that teachers use a number of specialist programmes to support students with special educational needs. At all times, the focus of the department and the NCSE is on doing what is right for the child and underpinning any educational interventions with evidence-based approaches. For that reason, the department does not promote one particular approach for meeting the needs of children with special educational needs and recognises that children with dyslexia or literacy difficulties may benefit most where a range of teaching approaches is employed by the class teachers.

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has developed guidance documents for primary and post-primary schools on Supporting Students with Literacy Difficulties/Dyslexia using the Continuum of Support model. These are designed to equip schools with knowledge of approaches and strategies required to support students who experience difficulties with literacy, using a response to intervention approach, in all school contexts.

The NCSE also provides support for teachers with training needs in special education, through the NCSE support service which manages, co-ordinates and develops a range of supports in response to identified teacher training needs. This support service provides Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) to teachers of students with a variety of special educational needs. The NCSE continues to update current TPL courses for teachers and designs new TPL courses in response to the needs of teachers.

My department and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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662. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if DEIS schools are obliged to implement the Reading Recovery programme for those behind with literacy skills; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30200/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential in life is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth, and for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level. It provides a targeted range of supports and is additional to the universal supports provided to all schools, such as the introduction of free school books and free hot school meals.

Primary schools in the DEIS programme also have access to a range of literacy and numeracy supports such as Reading Recovery, Maths Recovery, First Steps and Ready Set Go Maths.

In relation to literacy, school leaders and teachers draw on a number of approaches to meet the needs of children in their school context. These can and do include research and approaches which align with ‘Science of Reading’ to address learning outcomes from the Primary Language Curriculum. However, for a small number of children, more intensive, more personalised support in literacy learning is required. Reading Recovery is designed for this purpose.

Reading Recovery is for a specific cohort of children, aged between 5 years 9 months and 6 years 6 months, who after one year of classroom instruction are experiencing significant literacy learning challenges. Reading Recovery is a highly effective, research and evidence-based, short-term (approx. 12 to 20 weeks) early intervention. Last year, in Ireland, 2,857 children took part in the intervention. Of this, 1824 were ‘successfully discontinued’ or ‘made progress’ by the end of the intervention. 845 programmes were recorded as ongoing, with 154 ceased and 34 children recorded as having left the school.

In line with the research advocated by ‘Science of Reading’, Reading Recovery incorporates the five core components of research-informed effective reading instruction:

• phonemic awareness
• phonics
• fluency
• vocabulary
• comprehension

Reading Recovery is closely aligned with key national frameworks, including the Primary Curriculum Framework, Primary Language Curriculum, the Guidelines for Preparation for Teaching and Learning, and the principles outlined in the SEN guidelines. It reflects an inclusive, child-centered approach and ensures that the specific needs of each learner are met through responsive, data-informed teaching.

Reading Recovery practices are grounded in a comprehensive understanding of how young children learn to read and write and are supported by an international evidence base, including independent evaluation studies and meta-analyses. In Ireland, the intervention has consistently demonstrated success in accelerating children’s literacy progress. These outcomes have been evidenced in the Irish context over the last 25 years, with data reflecting this consistency.

The recent OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland (2024) recognises that the DEIS supports such as Reading Recovery have helped, in particular, the lowest performing students, both in the short and long-term. However, as the review also points out, more recent evidence on the programme is questioning the long-term validity of the intervention. As with all department programmes this matter is subject to review in the light of new information available.

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) has developed guidance documents for primary and post-primary schools on Supporting Students with Literacy Difficulties/Dyslexia using the Continuum of Support model. These are designed to equip schools with knowledge of approaches and strategies required to support students who experience difficulties with literacy, using a response to intervention approach, in all school contexts.

The DEIS programme is based on the premise that in order to have the maximum possible impact on providing opportunities for students most at risk of educational disadvantage, extra resources must be targeted as closely as possible at those students with the greatest level of need.

As Minister, I am determined to close the performance gap between DEIS and non-DEIS schools and introduce more innovative solutions to tackle disadvantage. A new DEIS Plan will be published in 2025. This plan will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage, and working towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that a school can receive the right support at the right time.

Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Solidarity)
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663. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she is aware of a report (details supplied) in relation to the effectiveness of the Reading Recovery programme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30201/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tackling educational disadvantage and supporting students to fulfil their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth, and for the Government. The DEIS programme is a key policy of Government to tackle concentrated educational disadvantage at school level.

With regards to literacy, school leaders and teachers draw on a number of approaches to meet the needs of children in their school context. For a small number of children, more intensive, more personalised support in literacy learning is required. Reading Recovery is designed for this purpose.

Reading Recovery is for a specific cohort of children, aged between 5 years 9 months and 6 years 6 months, who after one year of classroom instruction are experiencing significant literacy learning challenges. Reading Recovery is a highly effective, research and evidence-based, short-term (approx. 12 to 20 weeks) early intervention.

Reading Recovery incorporates the five core components of research-informed effective reading instruction - phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension. Reading Recovery practices also respond to the individual child, drawing on research on motivation and engagement, reciprocity between reading and writing within a meaningful, integrated context.

Reading Recovery is closely aligned with key national frameworks, including the Primary Curriculum Framework, Primary Language Curriculum, the Guidelines for Preparation for Teaching and Learning, and the principles outlined in the SEN guidelines. It reflects an inclusive, child-centered approach and ensures that the specific needs of each learner are met through responsive, data-informed teaching.

Reading Recovery practices are grounded in a comprehensive understanding of how young children learn to read and write and are supported by an international evidence base, including independent evaluation studies and meta-analyses. In Ireland, the intervention has consistently demonstrated success in accelerating children’s literacy progress. These outcomes have been evidenced in the Irish context over the last 25 years, with data reflecting this consistency.

The recent OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland (2024) recognises that the DEIS supports, such as Reading Recovery, have helped in particular the lowest performing students, both in the short and long-term. However, as the review also points out, more recent evidence on the programme is questioning the long-term validity of the intervention. As with all Department programmes, this matter is subject to review in the light of new information available.