Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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509.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if the teaching council plan to update their further education requirements to include ASD specific disciplines; and if she will make a statement on the matter.[33949/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Under the Teaching Council Acts 2001-2015 the Teaching Council is the body with the statutory authority and responsibility for the regulation of the teaching profession in Ireland including the registration of teachers in the State.

The Teaching Council is the professional standards body for the teaching profession, which promotes and regulates professional standards in teaching, establishes the requirements for programmes of initial teacher education and accredits those programmes for the purposes of registration.

The Teaching Council has published Céim: Standards for Initial Teacher Education, which set out the requirements which all programmes of qualification for teaching in Ireland must meet in order to gain accreditation from the Teaching Council. It is also a benchmark for anybody seeking to register as a teacher in Ireland.

CEIM includes core elements that ITE programmes must contain, including Inclusive Education:, which "includes the fostering of appropriate learning environments, including digital ones, that support the development of student teachers’ ability to provide for the learning needs of all pupils by utilising, for example, a universal design for learning framework." This is intended to provide the foundational competencies teachers will need in order to teach in SEN settings, including those for ASD.

Initial Teacher Education is part of the continuum of professional learning and development for teachers.

The Department of Education has a wide range of support structures in place across the primary and post primary sectors to enable teachers to meet the ever-evolving needs of the education sector and to support improvements in the quality of teaching and learning generally. This ranges from short CPD inputs to programmes of study at post-graduate level (including a number of postgraduate programmes in the area of SEN/autism).

On an annual basis, the Department of Education provides funding for two distinct categories of post-graduate programmes for Special Education Teachers:

- The Post-Graduate Diploma Programme of Continuing Professional Development for Special Education Teachers.

- Graduate Certificate in the Education of Pupils on the Autism Spectrum

The aim is to provide substantial theoretical and practical continuing professional development for teachers working with students with special educational needs, contributing to the school’s overall capacity to meet the needs of pupils with special education needs, including autism.

In addition to or separate from Department funded Inclusion/SEN courses, some Higher Education Institutes offer privately funded courses on these topics at post-graduate/masters level, which participants fund themselves. Furthermore, the Department of Education funds the Teacher Fee Refund Scheme which provides funding towards the cost of course participation and examination fees on successful completion of teacher professional learning courses, including inclusion programmes.

The professional development needs of our teachers are met through the provision of an induction programme for newly-qualified teachers, dedicated support for school leaders, national professional learning programmes for curricular and policy reform and a range of ongoing support for teachers in pedagogical areas. Much of this is facilitated by Oide, an integrated teacher professional development support service. This support is not formally certified but is provided to support schools and teachers in implementing a wide range of curricular and education reforms and to enable improvements in teaching and learning for all students.

Funded by the Department of Education, Oideworks with teachers and school leaders to provide ongoing support and professional development, which promote inclusive practices. Oide is currently supporting the implementation of new and revised curricula at both primary and post primary. We recognize that learners are diverse and through the provision of a range of supports, each of which are designed and underpinned with the fundamental principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL) in mind, invite teachers to examine and alter teaching and learning approaches that meet the needs of all learners.

Oide also provides bespoke school-based support which allows teachers and school leaders to explore inclusive practices and, as a result, to respond directly to the needs of learners in their own context.

This year Oide will provide a seminar onFostering a Culture of Inclusion in Schools. This is a cross sectoral seminar for Primary and Post Primary. This seminar explores the concepts of inclusive school cultures that value cultural, ethnic, and linguistic diversity. Oide recognises that learners are diverse and through the provision of a range of supports, each of which are designed and underpinned with the fundamental principles of UDL in mind, they invite teachers to examine and alter teaching and learning approaches that meet the needs of all learners.

At primary level, Oideoffers a full day PLE to teachers in relation toTeam Teaching and Inclusion of children with Special Educational Needsin the mainstream classroom. Oide also make available specific resources and training to support those learners with special education needs, including:

- Team Teaching and Inclusion of children with Special Educational Needs through in-school support, seminars (PP) and an e-learning module (Primary)

- Supporting Inclusion of all pupils in the development of physical literacy and fundamental movement skills (Primary)

- Blended learning with a focus on inclusive practice (REBEL Project)

- Universal Design for Learning Webinar (Primary)

- Leading the inclusion of EAL Learners in the Primary/ Post-Primary Classroom

The Droichead Induction Division supports the induction of Primary and Post-primary Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) into the teaching profession. The main objective of the Droichead process is to support the professional learning of NQTs during the induction phase, thus laying the foundations for subsequent professional growth and learning.

The Induction Division offers a range of induction workshops for NQTs that provide complementary special education needs support addressing behaviour, inclusion, and differentiated support for all learners.

Through its everyday work, the NCSE aligns its Teacher Professional Learning (TPL) with the Teaching Council’s national framework for teacher professional learning. One of the main aims of the NCSE is to support teachers and schools in a way that builds capacity, supports the inclusion of all children, including students with special educational needs, at a whole school level.

The NCSE provides a suite of professional learning opportunities for school leaders and teachers, which in turn, aims to improve educational experiences and outcomes for all students.

The NCSE offers bespoke in-school support for either whole school staff, small groups, or individual teachers. The support can be tailored to specific TPL needs within a school, such as, in the areas of differentiation, planning, autism and behaviour.

The Department of Education is committed to the training and support of teachers and school leaders to provide quality, inclusive teaching and learning opportunities. The Department will continue to work with partners in education to provide a comprehensive range of in-service TPL opportunities that allows those working at all levels of education, to access supports which will benefit all learners, including those with autism.