To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the Special Education Needs Literacy & Numeracy Programme; and how he plans to continue meeting the needs of pupils who participate on this programme in 2015/2016.

I understand that clarification was provided in relation to this question and that the information being sought is “how the special educational needs (SEN) framework will support the literacy and numeracy needs of pupils with SEN in the immediate to medium future; in the context of cuts to the Minister’s departmental budget.”

Although the Executive’s budget has been reduced by the Westminster government by £1.5bn over the last five years, I have allocated an additional £10m to the Education Authority in 2015-16 to support frontline SEN services for those children that are most vulnerable or at risk of exclusion.

It remains my priority to ensure that every child receives a high quality education and has the opportunity to reach their full potential. To that end, the Education Authority (EA) has advised that it continues to offer a range of special education support and provision which is available to parents and schools for children with SEN, such as those with literacy and/or numeracy difficulties, including the following:

specific learning difficulties awareness training to enhance the capacity of teachers to identify and respond appropriately in addressing pupils’ needs;

all Educational Psychologists are trained in the assessment and identification of SENs and provide a comprehensive range of support including recommendations and resources to parents and schools;

a range of innovative strategies, resources and computer assisted programmes are available for pupils with literacy and/or numeracy difficulties for whom more traditional methods are unsuccessful;

a range of measures to help pupils requiring support taking examinations.

A further range of capacity building projects are provided specifically to assist teachers including:

Good Practice Guidelines Booklet

Provides guidelines on relevant and purposeful measures and adjustments to the classroom environment for pupils experiencing literacy difficulties.

SEN Resource File

Provides teaching staff with details of support for SEN, including sections relating to literacy and numeracy.

Certificate of Competence in Educational Testing [CCET] Training

This training, which ended in June 2014, enables schools to carry out a range of assessments on pupils with SEN, including those with literacy difficulties.

SEN Literacy Project

A recently completed three year project delivered jointly by Stranmillis and St Mary’s College, funded by the DE, provided schools with online and centre based training on the identification, assessment and the teaching of pupils with literacy difficulties in primary schools across the north of Ireland.