Special Educational Needs

87. Deputy Joe Cooney asked the Minister for Education and Youth the number of primary school pupils in County Clare who are currently receiving additional teaching support for literacy difficulties, including dyslexia; the way in which this compares with the previous three school years; and the waiting lists for specialist reading classes for the same years. [74989/26]

I have heard from a number of constituents in County Clare whose children have serious difficulties with reading and writing. The impact of this is profound. I hear about children who have low confidence. They are teased in class and end up not wanting to attend a school as a consequence. I would like to get a better understanding of the scale of these issues in County Clare, the available supports and the plan for providing more in the future.

I thank the Deputy for raising the matter. I acknowledge that his question relates specifically to County Clare, but I will also touch on the national perspective. The mainstream class teacher is the person who leads on the teaching and learning for all children in a primary classroom, including those with literacy difficulties. We currently have the lowest ever pupil-teacher ratio at primary level. In addition, the class teacher is supported in this work by special education teachers, of which there are 15,200 allocated to primary and post-primary schools. This additional teaching support is provided on the basis of individual students' learning needs identified in schools, as opposed to being based on a requirement for a child to have a diagnosis or an assessment of a particular disability. Furthermore, there are four schools dedicated to supporting students with specific learning disabilities, SLD. There are also 14 SLD classes in 11 mainstream primary schools, including at two primary schools in County Clare. However, I recognise that more needs to be done. I am happy to advise that officials in the Department, in conjunction with the NCSE, are currently finalising a pilot programme to test whether additional supports to mainstream teachers could be provided effectively by teachers who have completed an existing postgraduate programme in DCU’s institute of education. The literacy associates pilot programme will support up to 40 schools initially. Furthermore, I am pleased to say that we have secured additional funding for teacher training as part of budget 2027. A new accredited course in inclusive education will be rolled out across all 4,000 schools and will include a key pillar to support the development of students' literacy skills.

I thank the Minister of State for the update. I welcome the record investment in special education in the recent budget. The new courses to support the development of reading and writing skills are brilliant. I also welcome the pilot programme being developed, which the Minister of State mentioned. It is a fantastic idea and it is great to see that sort of innovation. While I note that it will support up to 40 schools, I cannot find any information on the number of children with these difficulties at county level. Without that information, how will the decision be made on which schools will be supported? Before the pilot programme is rolled out, will the Department consider collecting county level data on pupils receiving these supports to better assist the decision making about where the supported schools are located?

One of the issues in special education I have met in the past year or so is dyslexia and reading and writing skills. In a lot of school communities we have visited, it has consistently been one of the issues raised. We have also met many families and communities who have grouped together to look for better resources and skills in this area. On the pilot programme we put in the budget, we wanted to get a better understanding of the challenges and how to address them because it is a major issue. Judging by recent comments made on the budget speech and the reaction from school communities and families across the country, I know it is a huge issue. Before we make any decisions, we want to make sure that the pilot programme is targeted such that we are accommodating the highest number of students to give them the best possible opportunities. Going back over many years, reading classes were hugely important aspects of it, but we have to ensure that we have the best possible across the country.

The Minister of State said that of 14 SLD classes in 11 mainstream primary schools across the country, two are in my own county of Clare, which is welcome. There are approximately 13,000 primary school children in our county. Research estimates that between 5% and 10% of pupils experience significant difficulty with reading and writing. Somewhere between 650 and 1,300 children are impacted in Clare, served by classes in two schools. This reinforces my argument that the lack of local details results in a lack of adequate targeted support. If we do not know how many children are receiving support in respect of reading or writing difficulties, or how that has changed over the last three years, nobody, including the Department, can judge whether existing supports are keeping pace. We do not know whether they are effective or whether what is planned will be enough. I think we can do better.

The Deputy is quite right. First, we have to understand the scale of the challenges being faced. Over the last year and a half or so, many of the communities I have met raised these issues with us. We are rolling out this pilot to get an understanding of what is needed across the country and how we can best equip our education system to meet that need. Education is the great ladder for life and it is hugely important enabler for life as well. We have seen statistics across the country on dyslexia, reading and writing, and the challenges that people face into adult life. I take the points the Deputy made on County Clare and will reflect very carefully on them. This pilot scheme is to address the need that has been very clearly demonstrated and how we can best empower our education system to meet that need, not just in County Clare but across the country.