Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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61. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the actions being taken to ensure that deaf and hard of hearing students can reach their full academic potential. [29924/24]

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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Will the Minister of State outline the actions she has taken to ensure deaf and hard of hearing students can reach their full academic potential?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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My Department, directly and through the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, provides a range of supports in schools for children who are deaf or hard of hearing. This includes additional teachers, specialist equipment and access to SNA support, depending on the child's level of assessed needs.

In Ireland, we have two established schools for the deaf. They are Holy Family School for the Deaf in Dublin and the Midwest School for the Deaf, dedicated to approximately 170 deaf or hard-of-hearing students and catering for children nationwide. Additionally, in the 2023-24 school year there were 25 special classes for deaf or hard-of-hearing children across 14 mainstream schools.

My Department provides funding to the NCSE for supports including 32 visiting teachers in the visiting teacher service. The ISL tuition scheme is available to deaf or hard-of-hearing children from diagnosis to leaving post-primary school. The total funding provided to the ISL tuition scheme in 2023 was €285,000 and 185 children and their families were supported by approximately 75 tutors in the 2023-24 school year. Under my Department’s assistive technology scheme, over 600 children benefited from specialised equipment for the visually and hearing-impaired last year.

There is also a long-standing provision to support children in mainstream settings where ISL is their primary language. The Department sanctions an additional SNA to schools, above their existing allocation, where a school is required to employ an individual with ISL proficiency to provide support. In March 2022, a new scheme for the provision of ISL in-school support for students who are deaf and whose primary means of communication is ISL was announced. Two new posts have been created, an ISL specialist classroom support and an ISL adviser for the deaf or hard of hearing. A recruitment campaign is under way for those additional posts.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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My understanding is that deaf and hard-of-hearing children are getting less support than before under the new SET model. Guidelines for 2024-25 allocate virtually all hours to children who are at the lowest levels in standardised tests. This means the Department now interprets educational needs solely on low scores, without reference to ability or potential. Deaf or hard-of-hearing children who have high levels of ability and potential and who may be achieving scores have no possibility of getting additional SET support to help them to reach that potential.

Research shows those children will continue to fall further behind their potential as they progress through the education system due to the absence of additional supports to help them to keep up with their peers. This reinforces the low-expectations culture in the education system for these children. Compared to Britain, where they publish outcomes and there is a significant deficit, our supports generally are much inferior. For example, the visiting teacher service is at 60% of capacity of Britain and few teachers of deaf children in Ireland have a postgraduate qualification in deaf education compared to virtually 100% in Britain.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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On visiting teachers, in recent years resource restrictions and associated high caseloads have impacted on the time visiting teachers have per student. However, we are turning a corner in relation to that. For example, the recent deployment of two visiting teachers for the deaf or hard-of-hearing in Dublin has led to a decrease in caseloads in the area of up to 40% in some cases. This allows visiting teachers more time to focus on complex cases in their area. The NCSE is also carrying out a review of caseloads across the country, which will load to more equitable distribution of pupils requiring support.

On SET hours, every school is unique and there is an understanding and appreciation of that. I ask schools to contact the NCSE where they feel they need more SET hours allocated to them. There is a review process in place.

Mairead Farrell (Galway West, Sinn Fein)
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I will pass that on to my colleague, Sorca Clarke. Phase 1 of the scheme for ISL classroom assistants and school advisers was first announced on 2 March 2022 and an implementation plan announced in November 2022. Advocates believe only a fraction of the envisaged 40 posts in phase 1 have been filled to date and the narrow medical criteria are a barrier to many children getting the support they need and discourage families from considering ISL as a communication option for their children.

Can the Minister confirm when phase 2 starts? Is she aware that a number of deaf students are applying to the State Examinations Commission to complete an exam in their first language, namely ISL, in the leaving certificate in 2025? Will she ensure the Department and relevant agencies complete the necessary preparations and arrangements for this to happen?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The two new roles support the work of the class teachers and complement other teaching and care support provided for targeted students. They will play a pivotal role into the future. As the Deputy said, the positions were originally advertised by the NCSE in 2022. However, there was a poor response to the recruitment campaign and only two advisers and specialist classroom support personnel were appointed. A further recruitment campaign is under way.

There is also an undergraduate pilot programme in DCU that enables deaf or hard-of-hearing people who use ISL to enter primary teaching. It is a four-year, full-time honours degree specifically designed for deaf or hard-of-hearing students who communicate through ISL. The students are not required to demonstrate ability in the Irish language.

In relation to the education system, Post-Primary Languages Ireland has developed a specification for a short course in ISL, available as part of the new junior cycle. The leaving certificate applied programme, a two-year programme, provides a course in sign language which develops awareness and appreciation of the Irish deaf community and its culture.