Minister rows back on SNA cuts

Fears that scores of Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) would be lost at schools across Meath appear to have been allayed as the Minister for Education rowed back on a review of allocations today (Tuesday).

There had been “widespread panic and concern from parents, teachers and principals” as schools across the state reported significant SNA cuts from next September.

In a statement this afternoon, Minister Hildegarde Naughton said: "I have listened carefully to all of the issues raised by parents and school communities in recent days. I want to reiterate that there are no cuts to SNA numbers.

"I want to ensure that SNAs are with the children who most need their care. To that end, I am pausing the review of SNA allocations.

"I, the Tanaiste and the Taoiseach are engaging intensively to ensure that all of the concerns raised are really understood and children with special educational needs are fully supported.

"No further letters on SNA review outcomes will issue until these engagements have concluded in the coming weeks," added the statement.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) had in recent weeks been basing its allocation of SNAs on primary care needs such as toileting, feeding, significant medical interventions, mobility or serious safety risks, while emotional regulation, sensory overload, communication difficulties, anxiety, or a child’s inability to cope in a busy mainstream classroom no longer meets the threshold.

Carol McSherry, Forsa Union representative and SNA in Navan had expressed concern for both the children and the SNA's affected.

“What the government was doing recently was adhering to a circular from 2014 that based the allocation of SNAs on physical needs, but the role has changed so much since then.

“This lead to concerns for the many SNAs whose jobs would be cut and the children they work with.

An SNA who works in a busy south Meath primary school had expressed huge concern for some of the children she works with.

“We have a lot of children with behavioural and mental health needs, suffering from anxiety, ADHD and with school refusal issues. The reveiw would mean these children would no longer have SNAs, many of them wouln't be able to cope, wouldn't be able to go to school. It was extremely worrying.

Cllr Emer Tóibín had described the move as “absolutely staggering”.

She had warned that without adequate SNA support, children with additional needs would struggle to regulate, participate and remain in class. "That inevitably affects every child in the room. Teaching time is lost, classroom stability is disrupted, and already overstretched teachers are left trying to meet complex needs without the necessary supports.”

Cllr Tóibín said that many SNAs faced deep uncertainty about their future employment .

“Skilled, experienced staff who have built trusted relationships with vulnerable children are left in limbo, while schools scramble to restructure.

“Teachers were being placed in impossible situations, families who are no strangers to stress faced more of the same.”

Deputy Darren O’Rourke, Sinn Féin Education and Youth spokesperson, had called on Education Minister Hildagarde Naughton to act immediately.

“The strict interpretation of the ‘primary care needs’ criteria was brutal and unfair. It completely misunderstood the breadth of the SNA’s role.

“We know that there are ongoing contract negotiations around the expanded role of an SNA. This expanded role needs to be recognised now, not at some undefined time in the future.

“I urge Minister Naughton to prevent any further cuts to SNA provision in schools across the state, and to reassure parents that every child with additional needs will have access to this essential support.”