Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 15 September 2021
427. Deputy Ivana Bacik asked the Minister for Education if she will consider introducing a mechanism to enable the retention of the same special needs assistants for children as they transition from primary education to second level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43690/21]
View answerThe NCSE has responsibility for planning and coordinating school supports for children with special educational needs including the allocation of SNAs and reviews. The Department does not have a role in making individual school determinations.
The Special Needs Assistant (SNA) scheme is designed to provide schools with additional adult support staff who can assist children with special educational needs who also have additional and significant care needs.
Such support is provided in order to facilitate the attendance of those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills so that their care needs diminish over time.
SNAs are not allocated to individual children but to schools as a school based resource. The deployment of SNAs within schools is a matter for the individual Principal/Board of Management of the school.
As the duties assigned to individual SNA’s are a matter for the school as the employer and as the SNA’s are a school based resource and not typically not assigned to a particular pupil, there are no plans to introduce a scheme for SNA’s to transition with pupils to post primary schools.
Where schools have concerns regarding their allocation of SNAs, this matter should be discussed with its SENO.
