Q&A: How the new system for the allocation of special teaching resources will work

A planned new model for allocating teaching resources for students with special educational needs has been published. Who does this affect? Any child who is being taught by the State's 11,000 special education teachers. These are currently divided into 5,000 learning support teachers – who help students with mild learning difficulties, including conditions such as dyslexia and attention deficit disorder – and almost 6,000 resource teachers, which cater for more severe special needs such as autism.

Under the current system, learning support teachers are allocated on the basis of the number of class teachers and students in each school. Resource teachers are allocated only when there is a formal diagnosis of disability.

So what is changing?

The proposed new model would bring the two strands together, renaming them as “support teachers”. A

bout 1,500 of them would be used as “baseline” support for every mainstream school.

The remaining support teachers – about 9,000 – would be allocated in accordance with the school’s “educational profile”, a new measurement of teaching needs.

How is the school’s “educational profile” drawn up?

The information will come from three broad areas: the number of students with very complex special educational needs; the results of standardised tests; and the “social context” of each school.

What’s the rationale?

The existing system is seen as unfair and a poor use of limited resources.

For example, the report notes, “two post-primary schools may have the same number of students but all students from one could continue to third level and only a few students from the other post-primary school might go – yet both schools receive the same level of additional learning support.”

In the case of resource hours, the report notes that many students are currently on long waiting lists for a formal professional diagnosis of disability.

In the meantime, they can’t access special education teaching support. Some parents have managed to shortcut this by seeking a private diagnosis which effectively “reinforce(s) disadvantage”.

So it’s basically shifting resources from rich schools to poor schools?

To some extent that will happen. The real shift, however, is away from schools wh

ich – because of their admission policies or inherent, social advantages – have fewer students with special educational needs.

Separately, the planned Admissions Bill will make it illegal to refuse to enrol a student on grounds of disability.

If my child scores below average on the standardised test would she get support under the model?

Not necessarily. The report points out

there are several reasons why a child might score below average, including simply having an “off day”.

Whether your child gets access to special teachers depends on whether the school’s overall educational profile satisfies the criteria for the additional resource.

Then, it is up to the school to allocate the resource hours as it sees fit.

What if I don’t agree with the level of support being given to my child?

Parents will be able to avail of an "external appeals process" through the National Council for Special Education.

Will the schools’ “educational profiles” be published?

No. Only the school’s teaching allocation would be published. This is because of the “sometimes sensitive information” the profiles would contain.

Will it add to bureaucracy?

The working group says not, arguing it will provide some reduction in administrative work. Schools will only be required to submit information every two or three years rather than annually and will not be expected to submit information already reported to the

department.

However, teacher unions are already questioning this claim.

Is this a cut?

The department emphatically replies: No. The number of resource teachers allocated to schools has risen by almost 1,000, or 18 per cent, since 2012/13, and it says this trend will continue in line with demographics.

Does this affect the provision of special needs assistants (SNAs)?

No. SNAs are allocated on the basis of medical care need. They look after non-teaching duties such as clothing, feeding and toileting.

What’s the timeframe for the new system?

Before it can be rolled out, a new data collection system must be put in place to create the educational profiles. Stakeholders are also being consulted and the report stresses the need to build consensus, and avoid causing unnecessary concern among parents.

September 2015 is set as a target start date but any change to this area is hugely sensitive and the Government may choose to delay that if there is any groundswell of opposition from communities.