Plans for resource to allocate teachers welcomed

Plans for a new way to allocate resource teachers from next autumn are welcome, but must be matched by a reversal of previous cuts, say parents of children with special needs.

Under a pilot scheme being run this year, some schools are allocated additional teaching time based on a range of factors other than simply their pupils’ categorised disability or educational need.

Education Minister Richard Bruton announced in his 2017 budget that he plans to extend the system to all schools, aided by 580 extra resource teachers at primary and 320 at second-level.

It is intended to replace the system under which some students wait longer to get support as their families or schools can not afford or access the required professional assessments.

However, the resources have been proportionately reduced since 2011, when the weekly hours of res- ource teaching assigned each child was reduced by 10%, followed by a further 5% cut since 2012.

While resource teacher numbers have risen each year to reflect more children needing help in mainstream schools, those pupils continue to receive 85% of what they would have had before 2011.

The new model will give schools greater flexibility to distribute how their overall resource teaching allocation is shared, but they will still be operating from a smaller share per pupil than in the past.

Lorraine Dempsey, the chairwoman of the Special Needs Parents Association, said that lost teaching time has still yet to be recouped.

“We’re glad that it’s planned to roll out a new model from next year, meaning the allocation of extra teaching is based on educational need and not simply on category of disability.

“But we’re still looking to have the 15% addressed in terms over overall, we still have a dilution of 15% there from 2012,” she said.

Ms Dempsey said parents will also want assurances that there are adequate psychological and other supports in place to support schools under the revised system.

Mr Bruton said on Tuesday that the new system would free up members of the National Educational Psychological Service from having to carry out the assessments currently needed to allocate resource teachers.

He estimated that one-third of the 580 extra primary-level resource teachers will be over and above what would otherwise be allocated next year just to cater for extra numbers of pupils with special educational needs in line with overall school enrolment rises.

Meanwhile, Mr Bruton should learn today if he faces industrial action and possible school closures by the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland over equal pay for younger teachers, and the possible withdrawal from supervision and substitution duties at more than 400 second-level schools.