To ask the Minister of Education what consideration he has given to the inclusion of modules on speech, language and communication needs in (i) postgraduate certification in education programmes; and (ii) training for classroom assistants.

Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes in Northern Ireland (including post-graduate certificate in education (PGCE) courses) are delivered by the four Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It is for the individual ITE providers to decide on the precise content of these programmes and the individual modules within them.

Courses are designed to ensure, amongst other things, that new teachers achieve a set of professional competences identified by the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland (GTCNI), and that they prepare teachers for the effective delivery of the Northern Ireland Curriculum.

It should also be noted that ITE represents the initial stages only of a teacher’s professional learning and teachers will continue to learn and develop professionally throughout their careers, led by both the needs of their pupils and their school.

The Department for the Economy has responsibility for Further Education Colleges who provide qualification courses for aspiring classroom assistants.

However, the Language and Communication Service (LCS) within the Education Authority provide a range of professional online courses which are universally available and suitable for classroom assistants.

The LCS also work to support children and young people with a Statement of SEN for language and communication needs/developmental language delay (DLD) who have additional adult assistant hours. The LCS works alongside the SEN Classroom Assistants to help build their knowledge of language and communication needs and to help them develop the skills to provide support.