E-sceal 539 - 2019 Proposed Changes - Model for Allocating SET to Schools
- Published: 06 December 2018
DES officials consulted with IPPN, management bodies and representative associations in relation to the Model for Allocating Special Education Teachers to Schools on Wednesday 5 December. Schools will be very much aware of the basis that they received their allocation in 2017:
- Baseline 20%
- Complex Needs 50%
- Standardised Tests 22%
- Disadvantage 4%
- Gender 4%
A number of changes are proposed for 2019, but it is anticipated that the baseline of 20% will remain the same. The percentage allocated to complex needs will decrease. However, this decrease will mean that the other elements, especially disadvantage and standardised tests, will increase.
There is an old saying that ‘All politics is local’. Despite the overall proposed changes, the reality for any school leader is ‘how will this affect our school’. The DES have a number of options:
- Implement total losses and total gains: This would effectively mean that if a school had a retained element in 2017 of 10 or 15 hours, then these would all be gone this time. Likewise, all gains for schools would be fully implemented.
- Gradual losses and gradual gains: This is self-explanatory in that if there was a retained element of 10 or 15 hours, then the losses may only be a percentage of these hours in this tranche. Schools would still have a retained element.
- Leave everything as it is: Schools who have a retained element would probably be delighted with this option. However, if your school had enrolled extra pupils with special needs and were only left with your existing resources, you may not be as happy with this option.
The DES wish to take a pragmatic view with those schools who only have small gains or losses. It is possible here that a decision may be taken to leave these clusters as they are. Consideration is also being given to this allocation operating for three years. This in many ways would give certainty to schools for this period.
IPPN would appreciate your feedback in relation to these options. Click here to select your preferred option by Friday, 14 December 2018.
