Minister explains SNA position

THE Minister for Education and Skills Ruairí Quinn has insisted that there will be no reduction in the overall number of special needs assistants (SNA) posts for the coming school year.

Local Senator Averil Power (FF) claimed schools across Dublin will still be hit with special needs cuts from September after Fine Gael and Labour defeated a Fianna Fáil motion calling for the cap on Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) to be lifted.

“It means that despite the Government’s u-turn on cuts to resource teaching hours, a 10 per cent reduction in SNA supports will still go ahead in September,

? claimed Senator Power.

“Thousands of Dublin children with more severe disabilities will be affected. This was only a partial u-turn.

?

However, Minister Quinn said the provision remains at 10,575 posts – the exact same amount as last year.

“Let me be very clear: children who qualify for access to SNA support for the coming school year will receive access to this support on precisely the same criteria as they did last year,

? he stated.

“There has been no change in the method or criteria on which SNAs are allocated.

“As a result, there is no cut and no changed policy decision on SNA allocations for me to reverse as Minister for Education and Skills.

“It is important to note, however, that the level of SNAs required to support children with special educational needs changes from year to year in line with the enrolment of different children with different care needs.

?

Minister Quinn said individual children’s care needs could also change from year to year.

“The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) takes these factors into account when allocating SNAs to schools,

? he stated.

“It is therefore not accurate to say a change in a school’s SNA allocation has anything to do with budget cutbacks or policy changes.

“In June 2012 the NCSE reported that the number of children requiring support for the 2012/2013 school year was in the order of 20,000 and the most up-to-date current figures show that for December 2012, there were 21,972 accessing SNA services.

?

Minister Quinn said this was the 10 per cent increase being cited but the education system seems to have operated perfectly well and has coped with these demands over the last six months.

“Indeed, the NCSE have advised me that while they have had to work within the cap introduced by the previous Government in 2010 for three years, they have always had surplus capacity at the end of each academic year,

? he added.

“I am confident that the system will be sufficiently resourced in order to be able to meet the demands placed upon it in the coming school year.

?