Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 6 October 2020
465. Deputy Christopher O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education the plans in place to minimise the movement of SNAs in circumstances in which they currently care for many students in different classes making contact tracing very difficult. [28559/20]
View answerThe Roadmap for the Full Return to School published in July and significant funding was provided to schools along with a range of supports and guidance to enable schools to plan for their reopening.
Extensive guidance on procedures for the reopening of schools is provided on the back to school website which can be assessed at www.gov.ie/backtoschool
The website includes an FAQ section covering the most common queries received from schools, this is available at the following link, https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/389bd-topics-being-raised-on-the-back-to-school-helpline/ details of the supports provided for the special education sector is available at the following link: https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/c0243-supports-for-the-special-education-sector-in-the-reopening-of-schools/.
The guidance for schools will be updated as required and the Department will continue to work with the health authorities and implement as appropriate any changes necessary to support school reopening in line with any changes to public health advice to manage the spread of COVID-19.
In relation to the provision of SNA support, the role of the SNA remains unchanged and is to support the care needs of students with special educational needs in mainstream classes, special classes and special schools.
Special needs assistants (SNAs) will continue to be allocated to schools in accordance with existing criteria. There is no provision for schools to apply for additional temporary SNA or SET positions from September in order to support school reopening.
The NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for students with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews.
DES Circular 0030/2014 in relation to the SNA scheme notes that the tasks of an SNA to provide for the care need of children with special educational needs include assistance with feeding, administration of medicine, assistance with toileting and general hygiene: (including catheterisation), Non-nursing care needs associated with specific medical conditions and assistance with moving and lifting of children, operation of hoists and equipment.
The nature of these tasks means that social distancing cannot be maintained and SNAs are therefore not required to maintain social distancing while performing their tasks, where it is not reasonably possible for them to discharge their duties from a physical distance.
Schools have been provided with additional funding to purchase PPE and SNAs whose work requires them to be in close contact with children should be prioritised for provision of PPE.
Education staff move routinely between schools in the context of substitute teachers, shared special education teachers and SNAs, and it is not possible to eliminate this movement entirely.
It is important that a staff member shared across class bubbles within a school should take particular care to maintain physical distancing and proper hand and respiratory hygiene in moving throughout the school.
In accordance with the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act, it is the responsibility of school management authorities to have a safety statement in place in their schools. Schools are obliged to identify possible hazards, assess the risks to health and safety and put appropriate safeguards in place.
The Department is supporting schools implement these protocols by providing:
- Induction and tailored training programmes for school staff produced by the Department.
- Webinars on health and safety, returning to work safely, managing school return and wellbeing.
- An enhanced Minor Works Grant to support full implementation of COVID-19 response plans.
- Additional financial supports to provide for additional cleaning, hand hygiene and PPE costs under the COVID-19 response plans.
As part of the Back to School measures, a specific training segment for SNAs is available on https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/dd7fb-induction-training-for-reopening-schools/#sna-induction-training
Further information from the Health Protection Surveillance Centre which provides a range of guidance of infection prevention and control in educational settings is available at the following link: https://www.hpsc.ie/a-z/respiratory/coronavirus/novelcoronavirus/guidance/educationguidance/
