Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 18 October 2018
49. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills the proposals he will make for improving working conditions for special needs assistants; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [42511/18]
Amharc ar fhreagraI sincerely congratulate the Minister and wish him well in his role. The day I first landed in Leinster House in 2016, the Minister was the first person I met so he will always have a special place in my heart.
As the Minister knows, special needs assistants, SNAs, play a major role in our schools. I wish to acknowledge that role today. What plans does the Minister have to improve the working conditions of SNAs in our schools?
I thank the Deputy. I remember that day very well and also the Deputy quoting Mark Twain. I think the quote was about the two most important times in our lives being the day we are born and the day we find out why we were born. I will not say what the Deputy told me about that second day but she may tell her constituents in private. She did not say she was born to meet me, to be clear - she gave a different reason.
I agree with the Deputy that this is a really important area. The special needs assistant scheme has been a major factor in ensuring the successful integration of children with special educational needs into mainstream education and the provision of support to pupils enrolled in special schools and classes. This support is very much valued by students, parents and schools, as they provide an indispensable service. Increased investment has allowed the Government to increase the number of SNAs by 42%, from 10,575 in 2011 to 15,000 by the end of this year. A further 950 SNA posts are being made available for allocation in budget 2019, increasing employment opportunities in this important field of employment.
The current public service collective industrial relations agreement, known as the public service stability agreement, PSSA, was reached with the public service trade unions in June 2017 and is due to run until 31 December 2020. The pay benefits of the PSSA range progressively from 7.2% to 6.2% over the three years from 2018 to 2020. At the end of the agreement, FEMPI pay cuts will have been restored in full to 90% of all public servants. With regard to the issue of new entrant pay, the measures recently agreed between the parties to the PSSA provide a credible pathway to addressing new entrant pay and represent a fair and reasonable outcome for the approximately 5,000 new entrant SNA recruits since January 2011.
My Department has put in place supplementary assignment arrangements for SNAs on foot of proposals brought forward by the Labour Relations Commission. These arrangements give priority to serving special needs assistants when work is being allocated and enhance the SNAs’ working conditions. The arrangement has been demonstrated to work effectively for SNAs and schools.
In 2016, the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, was requested to lead a comprehensive review of the SNA scheme. The review set out to ensure that the scheme is achieving the best outcomes possible for children with special educational needs, supported by the special needs assistants. The review was published on 30 May 2018.
Additional information not given on the floor of the House
One of the review’s recommendations is for a new allocation model which would front-load supports into schools. Such a model would remove the existing need for assessments for many students and ensure the support is available to them as soon as they arrive in school. If implemented, it would also substantially further improve job security for SNAs in schools, ensuring greater certainty for them regarding their employment status.
The review also recommends ongoing professional development options for SNAs be provided. The training and development recommendations made by the NCSE review are in recognition of the fundamental importance of building schools’ capacity to meet additional care needs of students. These and other recommendations of the review are currently under consideration. I am committed to the continued effective operation of the SNA scheme in consultation with education partners.
As I have said many times in this Chamber, I have a personal interest in the area of children with special needs and in special needs assistants. It is extremely important that these children and their assistants are treated fairly. It is also important that the policy put in place by my party, Fianna Fáil, in 1998 is made available to every child with extra needs without hesitation and that stakeholders are confident in the system.
I note that budget 2019 provides €4.75 million in funding that will be made available to commence the implementation of a comprehensive review of the special needs assistant scheme, which is intended to support a new school inclusion model to deliver the right supports at the right time to students with additional care needs. Of course, the devil is in the detail and I note that a more detailed announcement regarding the implementation of the review will be made in due course. The NCSE proposals whereby a greater range of supports would be offered via the special needs assistants makes absolute sense. They have a unique relationship with the child and it stands to reason that their intervention would benefit the child. From speaking with special needs assistants, I know they are willing to learn and are anxious to see their students progress.
I thank the Deputy for her observations about the importance of SNAs in schools. I know we talk about the broader global figures, which will exceed 15,000 in 2019, but I place a high value on the work SNAs do and have gained insight into how they contribute to the overall running of the schools. They play a vital role. We need to provide them with certainty and ensure that they have proper conditions. That is why the review published on 30 May 2018 was so important. Once we publish a review there is a series of recommendations so the hard work of choices starts now. These and other recommendations of the review are under consideration. There are a couple of elements to highlight, such as continuing professional development options for SNAs and ensuring that we substantially improve job security for SNAs in schools, providing greater certainty in respect of their employment status.
I also raise another matter publicly today, one which I raised with my officials on my first morning on the job. There are issues and weaknesses in every organisation. One area which I highlighted when in opposition, and on which I will be happy to work with colleagues across the House, is the position of secretaries in primary schools. Their contracts stop at the end of the school term, as do their pension entitlements. This issue, which I have been aware of since I was first elected to the House in 2007, has not been addressed either. I do not want to create expectations that it will be addressed but I will say that primary school secretaries, as well as SNAs, perform an integral role in schools. I want to work on this issue and I would be happy to hear my colleagues' opinions on it in the time ahead.
I thank the Minister for acknowledging the important role SNAs have in schools. I agree with him on the important role played by secretaries. They are often overlooked and they play a pivotal role in the schools.
It is well known that early intervention is key and SNAs are integral to a child's progress, as is the relationship between the teacher and the SNA. Additional training is vital to equip the SNAs in this regard. It is also vital that SNAs have security and good job protection going forward. It is also imperative that we have school buildings in place. I am aware that building projects for some schools that were to commence in 2016 and 2017 are yet to materialise, as other Deputies have already pointed out. When a child's future is at stake, political spin must be put aside. I call on the Minister to rectify the matter without further delay.
The recommendations are under consideration and in the meetings and briefing sessions - my head is about to explode with all the briefing sessions I have had between yesterday and today - SNAs were a subject of those conversations. We will give the recommendations in-depth analysis and ensure they are given proper and adequate consideration.
