Special Education Posts

Introduction

Special education is educational provision that is designed to cater for pupils with special educational needs, and is additional to or different from the provision which is generally made available in mainstream classes for pupils of the same age. Such education may take place in mainstream schools, special schools or a special class or unit. This section contains information on aspects of special educational services in these settings. Please find below recently published circulars by the Department of Education & Skills for the staffing arrangements for 2011/2012.

  • Circular 0042/2011 - Staffing Arrangements in Special Schools.
  • Circular 0040/2011 - New Pay Scales for New Appointees to Teaching in 2011.
  • Circular 0037/2011- Revised Arrangements for the Provision of Resource Teaching Supports for the 2011/12 school year.
  • Circular 0030/2011 - Arrangements for the 2011/2012 School Year in Relation to Learning Support/Resource Teacher (LS/RT) and Resource Teacher (RT) Posts - Full and Part Time Posts.
  • Circular 0038/2010 - Staffing Arrangements for Special Schools and the role of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE)

Support Services for pupils with Special Needs

Visiting Teacher Service

The Information Leaflet for the DES Visiting Teacher Service for children and young people with a hearing or visual impairment (VTHVI) is currently being updated. (Source - DES website July 2011)

 

The Visiting Teacher Service of the Department of Education and Skills provides a service for pupils with specific disabilities, such as hearing or visual impairment and for pupils with mental or physical disabilities in mainstream schools. Visiting teachers are involved in direct teaching in addition to providing an advisory/support service for teachers and parents. They provide this service to pupils within their own specialist areas and for other pupils with milder forms of other specified disabilities as may be agreed. They have the consultative services of visiting teacher colleagues available to them in this respect.

Visiting teachers are entitled to the payment of an allowance equivalent to an assistant principal's allowance. They are also entitled to travel and subsistence allowances as determined by the Department of Education and Skills. Visiting teachers who are not provided with official office accommodation are paid an office allowance in respect of the use of their homes as work bases.

Visiting Teacher positions are advertised in the press, by the Department of Education and Skills, as vacancies occur.

Special Education Teachers in Mainstream Schools - General Allocation

Sp.Ed. Circular 02/05 outlines the details of the General Allocation Scheme. The General Allocation Scheme has not been affected by Circular 0017/2011.

Each mainstream school is entitled to a general allocation of permanent teachers to assist schools in making appropriate provision for

  1. Children who require learning support teaching.
  2. Children who have special educational needs arising from high incidence disabilities (mild general learning disability, specific learning difficulty, borderline mild general learning disability).

In 2005 the allocation was based on the school's enrolment (excluding Travellers and children in special classes). The initial allocation (June 2005) was based on the enrolment for the 2003/4 school year. Schools have retained this allocation since then, pending a review of the General Allocation Scheme. The report of the review is currently (July 2011) with the Minister.

Different pupil teacher ratios apply to boys' schools, mixed schools and girls' schools, for the purposes of the General Allocation System. Full details are outlined in Appendix 2 of Sp Ed Circular 02/05. Details of the ratios are outlined below:


 Large School Small Schools
Boys' schools with 135 pupils or more

1st post at 135;
2nd post at 295;
3rd post at 475;
4th post at 655;
and so on.

 <135 pupils
Qualify for 1st post at 100
Mixed Schools with 145 pupils or more 1st post at 145;
2nd post at 315;
3rd post at 495;
4th post at 675;
and so on.		 <145 pupils
Qualify for 1st post at 105
Girls' schools with 195 pupils or more
 1st post at 195;
2nd post at 395;
3rd post at 595;
4th post at 795;
and so on.		 <195 pupils
Qualify for 1st post at 150
All designated disadvantaged schools

1st post at 80;
2nd post at 160;
3rd post at 240;
4th post at 320;
and so on.

  

 

It should be noted that schools qualify for a pro rata part of a post for pupil numbers below the enrolment point for the 1st post and between the 1st and 2nd post, the 2nd and 3rd post, and so on.

For a designated disadvantaged school with 60 eligible pupils the general allocation is 0.8 of a post; for a boys’ school with 215 pupils the general allocation is 1.5 posts; for a mixed school with 700 pupils the general allocation is 4.1 (rounded to one decimal place).

DES has allocated each school base post(s) and/ or part-time hours to cover their general allocation. It should be noted that part-time general allocation hours not being provided by a base post may be combined with sanctioned low incidence hours (as set out below) to create a full-time temporary post in a school or cluster of schools. In 2005 such a post was sanctioned for a minimum of 22 hours. In May 2011 Circular 0030/2011 revised this figure to 25 hours.

Special Education Teachers in Mainstream Schools - Low Incidence

Schools who have enrolled children with low incidence disabilities as defined in Appendix 3 Circular Sp Ed 01/05 receive additional staffing to support these pupils. The number of hours set out is based on the pupil teacher ratio for special schools and classes. Circular 0037/2011.

Where a child with a low incidence disability is enrolled / assessed in a school, the school should make application for the appropriate resource teaching hours through their local Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) as outlined in Circular Sp Ed 01/05. Following consideration of the application, including consultations with schools and parents/guardians as necessary, the SENO will decide on any adjustments necessary to the existing level of teaching or special needs assistant support currently available to the school. The decision will be confirmed, by the SENO, in writing to the school and will not be subject to further Departmental ratification.

Circular 0030/2011 outlines the arrangements for the 2011/2012 school year in relation to Learning Support/Resource Teacher (LS/RT) and Resource Teacher (RT) posts - full and part-time posts. 10 things you should know about this circular are located in the Special Education FAQ section.

Appointment of Resource Teacher for Children with Low Incidence Disabilities (Full-time & Part-time) 

The following DES Circulars relate to the issue of appointment of Resource Teachers for children with Low Incidence Disabilities:

Special Education Posts 2011-2012

Circular 0037/2011 outlines the arrangements which have been put in place for the 2011/2012 school year for the allocation of resource teaching hours for children with assessed special educational needs. The main elements of the arrangements are: 

  • that an allocation of 90% of valid identified resource teaching allocations will be made to schools for the school year 2011/2012, in the first instance, to provide schools with the majority of their allocation.
  • Schools are asked to forward any outstanding applications no later than 16th September 2011.
  • Following consideration of all the applications received, if the level of demand permits, the initial 90% allocation may be revisited and increased.

Click here to download the FAQ document on Circular 0037/2011.

See Appendix I and Appendix II of Circular Sp Ed 08/02 for a description of general learning disabilities as defined by the DES and the recommended allocation of resource hours.

Staffing Ratio in Special Schools and Classes

The staffing applicable to special schools/special classes depends on the category of the school/class as indicated in the table below (Appendix I Circular 0038/2010).

Circular 0042/2011 (June 2011) details the staffing arrangements that will apply for the year 2011/2012 and states that the DES intends to adopt a revised annual staffing arrangement as from the 2012/13 school year, based on updated pupil profiles each year. This circular should be read in conjunction with Circular 0038/2010 Staffing Arrangements for Special Schools and the role of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). 

Category Pupil-Teacher Ratio/Resource Hours
Physical Disability 10:1
Hearing Impairment 7:1
Visual Impairment 8:1
Emotional Disturbance 8:1
Severe Emotional Disturbance 6:1
Mild General Learning Disability 11:1
Moderate General Learning Disability 8:1
Severe/Profound General Learning Disability 6:1
Autism/Autistic Spectrum Disorders 6:1
Specific Learning Disability 11:1
Specific Speech and Language Disorder 7:1
Multiple Disabilities
6:1

 

Last updated: July 2011