Mr. Andy Pike:

The retention of SNAs is primarily an issue around redundancy. A school that applies for an exceptional review runs the risk that the assessment will determine it has too many. The recent guidelines issued by the NCSE bring forward the timescales to ensure that schools receive notification of their SNA allocations at the same time as they do their special education teachers. In previous years it has been June before SNAs know if they have got a job in September. That is not acceptable, so something has to be done.

In terms of the criteria being narrowed, one would worry if a school that is opening new special classes can only staff that special class by moving SNAs who are currently supporting students in mainstream. There is a serious question for the Department and the NCSE to answer around what their policy is. Two or three years ago it was about building up capacity in mainstream and inclusion in mainstream classes, but now it seems to be the reverse. Nobody knows really where they are with the Department's overall policy.

The biggest issue around the retention of SNAs is the risk of redundancy. That is why redeployment is crucial.