AQW 36820/11-15
Ms Claire Sugden
Independent
East Londonderry
Tabled Date: 01/10/2014
Answered On Date: 14/10/2014
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Education how his Department identifies underdeveloped social, emotional, communication and language skills of young children; and to detail the mechanisms in place to monitor progress in these areas.
Answer:
For young children in DE funded early years settings, assessment of children’s learning is based on day-to-day observations of, and interactions with, children in a range of situations. Potential barriers to learning such as under developed social, emotional, communication or language skills are identified through careful observation, recording of responses to activities, and through close liaison with other professionals. It may be necessary to draw up individual plans to meet a child’s needs or to identify appropriate support. I recently announced nearly £200,000 additional funding specifically to help eligible non-statutory pre-school settings to identify and address underdeveloped social, emotional, communication and language skills of young children in line with the Department’s commitment set out in ‘Learning to Learn – A Framework for Early Years Education and Learning’. The statutory responsibility for securing provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs (SEN) rests with both schools, and the Education and Library Boards which are responsible under special education legislation for identifying, assessing and, in appropriate cases, making provision for children with SEN in their areas. A range of tools are used to monitor progress in these areas both for young children generally and for children with SEN.
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