Can children with additional support or special needs receive Gaelic-medium education?
They can and do; many Local Authorities have excellent inclusion policies that apply equally to GME as English provision. The selection of resources available is not wide as yet, but there is considerable work being undertaken at present to develop provision. Stòrlann has produced a reading scheme based on phonics which makes a wide variety of simple texts available for children who require additional support with reading. A Gaelic predictive text device has been developed for PCs and a range of resources are being simplified with the programme Textease. You should be able to access advice from your local provider and local authority regarding the learning needs of your child and what Gaelic medium education can offer. There is currently a limited pool of fluent Gaelic-speaking Educational Psychologists, Speech and Language Therapists and Additional Support Needs auxiliaries and the need for recruitment will be addressed by Bòrd na Gàidhlig’s National Gaelic Teacher Recruitment Strateg
