Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Tuesday, 21 June 2022

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

The qualifications do not change, in essence. It is up to a school as to how to deploy a particular SNA allocation. An SNA is not designated to a particular child; rather, he or she is designated to a particular class, whether a special or mainstream class, with a view to the children developing independent living skills. The children in primary school can, understandably, become quite attached to their SNA. That can happen in post-primary, and again that depends on the level of need of a child. The role of an SNA is as important in post-primary as primary schools. The qualification does not necessarily change. Whether the same SNA works in a primary or post-primary school depends on his or her contract and whether he or she is moving or changing roles or was on a panel at some point.

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