HC Deb 27 January 1997 vol 289 cc38-40W
Mr. Ieuan Wyn Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to(a) monitor and (b) deal with the problem of processing statutory assessments of children with special educational needs within the legal deadline of six months with particular reference to dyslexia. [11576]

Mr. Jonathan Evans

Local education authorities have a responsibility to comply with the time scales prescribed in regulations for the assessment of children with special educational needs, including those with dyslexia. Should the local education authority fail to meet the time scales, there is a right of complaint to my right hon. Friend. Health authorities and social services departments also have duties in relation to these statutory time scales.

Mr. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he is taking to ensure implementation of the principle of partnership with parents of children with special needs from April. [11577]

Mr. Evans

The code of practice on the identification and assessment of special educational needs, to which all agencies involved with children with special educational needs have to have regard, stresses the principle of partnership with parents. In support of this, my right hon. Friend has, for a number of years, allocated grant to the special needs advisory project—SNAP—and, through the grants for educational support and training programme, has allocated grant to local education authorities to assist them in their duty of identifying a name person to help parents in the statementing process. The GEST funding is to continue in 1997–98 and the Welsh Office is considering an application from SNAP for further funding from April 1997.

Mr. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales how many children in(a) Ynys Môn and (b) Wales are the subject of statements of special educational needs; and how many of these are estimated to be related to dyslexia or specific literacy difficulties. [11578]

Mr. Evans

At January 1996, according to returns to the schools census, 15,909 children in schools in Wales had statements of special educational needs, and of these 372 were in schools in Ynys Môn. Information is not available about the number of children with dyslexia or specific literacy difficulties, although they are likely to be included in the number identified as having specific learning difficulties: 2,529 children in schools in Wales had statements which recorded this category as their major difficulty; of these, 114 were in schools in Ynys Mon. Further data on children with statements of special educational needs are contained in the recently published Welsh Office volume "Welsh Education and Training Statistics Bulletin No. 3: Pupils with Statements of Special Educational Needs 1993–94—1995–96", a copy of which is in the Library of the House.

Mr. Jones

To ask the Secretary of State for Wales what measures he proposes to ensure that an adequate number of teachers hold specialist qualifications in dyslexia in Ynys Môn. [11579]

Mr. Evans

It is for local education authorities and schools to ensure that suitable education is provided for children who are dyslexic. The Welsh Office provides funding through the grants for education support and training programme to local education authorities for the training of teachers of children with special educational needs, including specifically those with dyslexia.