The proposed new system for special needs education will not work unless an additional 1,000 teachers are recruited, the INTO warned yesterday.
It was responding to the announcement by the Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, of a new system for allocating special needs resources. This will take effect in September next when 350 teachers will be recruited.
The INTO says the new system, while a "step in the right direction" is by no means perfect.
It is hoped the new system will clear the backlog which has seen some 6,000 children waiting for support even though they have been assessed. At present, a school must submit a separate application to the Department for every child. But the new system will give a fixed allocation to all schools based on their numbers and other criteria. The hope is this will allow support to be given speedily.
The new system will allow for individual allocations in respect of pupils with more acute needs. It will also give priority to disadvantaged and all-male schools where needs are greatest. All boys' schools will be allocated one learning support teacher for every 140 pupils, while all girls' schools will get one for every 200.
Mr Dempsey said the new system will greatly reduce the need for individual applications and will put resources in place on a more systematic basis, thereby giving schools more certainty over their resource levels.
"The revised system will reduce the administrative burden on schools and allow them to concentrate on the delivery of services to pupils with special needs. It will also allow psychologists to devote more time to advising teachers on planning for individual children and for whole school provision," added Mr Dempsey.
But Labour's Ms Jan O'Sullivan said there remained several key unanswered questions. "What happens to the over 6,000 children already confirmed by educational psychologists as needing support? Do they have to take their chances under the new system?" she asked.
The INTO said the allocation of the 350 new teachers was based on some 13 per cent of children requiring support nationally but the union estimated the real figure was about 19 per cent.