Ms Catriona Galster:

We need to raise the qualification requirements for SNAs. As Mr. Pike said, 43 years ago the educational standard to become an SNA was three grade Ds at group or intermediate certificate level. By the 1990s, a movement was growing towards having children with additional educational needs integrated into mainstream schools. Today, there are 19,000 SNAs. In 2018, there were about 930,000 students in primary and secondary schools, of whom one in four had an additional educational need. This is 230,000 students. We ask the Department to stop referring to these 19,000 employees as a "scheme" or to SNAs as "SNA resources". We are an integral part of the education system. Inclusion for all students is a stated ambition of the school inclusion model and we expect to grow in number and expertise in the years to come. The range of conditions for which SNAs are employed is great and includes complex medical, physical, sensory, cognitive, social, communication, behavioural and neurological conditions. Some of the conditions include autism, Down's syndrome, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, diabetes, visual and auditory impairment, cystic fibrosis and fragile x. The list goes on and it is not exhaustive.

For SNAs to provide the support that students in their care need then they must have a comprehensive understanding of complex conditions. For the successful inclusion of these students, they must have the necessary skills to support them.

SNAs in many schools are very far from being respected. This is largely due to the perception that they do not have a high level of education. It is entirely unacceptable for the Department of Education to persist with this assertion that the current academic standard of three Grade Ds is sufficient to work as an SNA. It is nothing short of insulting to the students that the Department deems it unnecessary for SNAs to have a qualification that reflects the level of care and support required for these students to succeed in school. The Department is fully aware of this and allows a situation to prevail where it does not have to acknowledge the academic standards required to meet the needs of the students with additional educational needs while at the same time knowing that schools will only employ SNAs who have relevant qualifications. This is a very disingenuous position for the Department to hold.

It is long past time for the educational standards to be revised upwards. SNAs have always known this. Teachers and principals know this too. Parents and students deserve it. Finally, the Department also knows it and has done for a long time. The Minister for Education, and the Minister of State who has responsibility for special education and inclusion, both need to do the right thing. Raise the minimum qualification and show SNAs the respect that they have deserved for so long.