Special needs education set for overhaul

THE Government is beginning a major overhaul of the way teachers and other resources are allocated for primary school children with disabilities.

The Department of Education last night set out a number of new policies on the issue of special educational needs. There are more than 10,000 such pupils with varying physical and learning disabilities in the primary sector.

The move has been welcomed by parents and teachers, particularly plans to allocate set staff numbers to all schools, rather than forcing children to wait until their specific needs have been assessed.