Pupils with special needs may face resource teacher shortage

THE Department of Education is facing pressure to ensure that children with special needs do not have reduced access to resource teachers from September.

As reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, schools are to be told soon that they will have to cater for any additional resource teaching requirements out of their existing allocations due to an unexpected rise in demand.

The department has made provision for 9,950 resource teaching posts this year under staffing controls required as part of the EU/IMF bailout. Although this allows for about 300 more resource teachers than last year, the numbers being employed in schools had reached 9,850 by April 1.