AQW 34660/22-27
Mrs Michelle Guy
Alliance Party
Lagan Valley
Tabled Date: 04/11/2025
Answered On Date: 11/11/2025
Priority Written: No
Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any actions his Department is taking to ensure there are appropriate screening tools, and diagnostic assessments, in Irish to ensure early identification and timely intervention for Irish-medium pupils with special educational needs.
Answer:
The Education Authority (EA) has advised that Educational Psychology Service (EPS) support, including planning, consultation, assessment, intervention and training, to the Irish Medium sector is calculated based on the needs across Northern Ireland schools, via an equitable allocation formula. Each school has a named Educational Psychologist who offers a range of services, from which a school can choose according to their needs. Efforts are made during school allocation to match Educational Psychologists interested in Irish/bilingualism with Irish Medium settings. An internal EA EPS Working Group continues to meet regularly and is focused on identifying ways of supporting Irish Medium schools.
|