Results 5,961-5,980 of 7,283 for speaker:Josepha Madigan

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: That is a very pertinent point. Clearly, children with the greatest level of needs need to be looked after, and that is the role of the SNA. It is primarily at the discretion of the school management authority how it deploys the SNAs within the school, but it is vital they are used for that purpose and only that purpose. It can be difficult to be prescriptive as to exactly the role of an...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Schools that are prioritised, particularly around the exceptional review, are developing schools and also schools that have no SNAs. As the Senator knows, the allocations have not changed since 2019. However, approximately 1,000 extra SNAs were given in 2020 and also an extra 1,000 in 2021. The exceptional review process is there if a school feels it does not have sufficient allocation. ...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: The Senator asked for number of SNAs. Since 2011, there has been an increase of 81% in the number of SNAs. By the end of the year we will have 19,169. There are 15 special classes in Galway and five in Roscommon. I have figures from 31 May. We have 11,174.79 SNAs in mainstream education, 4,613.92 in special classes and 2,775 in special schools. This gives an indication of how they are...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I already gave my personal view. I said I think SNAs should be accredited. My personal view is important, but it is not everything either. There is a process that must be followed. As Deputy Ó Ríordáin knows, the issue around the minimum requirements is already with the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, and the Department is engaging with that process. Of course, if a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: It was the first national training programme for SNAs. It is a four-year contract. Some 3,500 SNAs will take part in it. The first cohort of 500 began in January 2021. I understand approximately 460 of those met the programme requirements in full. Some 900 have completed the programme since May of this year. In September, another 1,000 will commence. Recruitment has been under way to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: It is more than ten months. They take part in six modules, which comprise inclusive education of children with special educational needs, language and communications, autism, medical and complex needs, promoting positive behaviour and self-regulation and professional development. Those are the different modules they study. Each module consists of six two-hour online sessions over a...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I do not have that detail. The only detail I have is that 460 of the first cohort of 500 SNAs completed the programme in full. All that detail is in the report that the officials are currently considering. More than 42% of them have more than ten years’ experience in the role, a further 44% have between three and ten years' experience, with the remaining 14% reporting less than two...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I do not believe that is the case. There is an SNA industrial relations forum. The system and Departments will follow through on the normal processes available to them. The Deputy is a lawyer and he understands due process sometimes that has to take place. It provides a structured process to manage any industrial relations issues that arise in this particular sector. It is a dedicated...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: That is my expectation. I can never guarantee anything, but I am expecting that. I hope that will be done in early course.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: I think that they should both be done around the same time, which will hopefully be this year.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: With regard to personal assistants, I will bring that to the attention of the Minister, Deputy Harris.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: UCD can offer accreditation. As I said, that is currently under review. The Deputy is correct. There was a procurement process and the contract was awarded to UCD in the first instance. There was a public procurement competition. The outcomes are being reviewed by the Department, with a view to seeing what further training programmes we can introduce. It is important to emphasise that...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: There is no impediment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: There is no impediment.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: A contract was not going to be awarded to a higher level body that would not have been in a position to offer accreditation down the line, if that was something that would be deemed appropriate for SNAs.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: Exactly.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: 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...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: It is still called a scheme because the circulars are still relevant and appropriate. I refer to Circular 0030/2014 and Circular 0030/2020. The scheme was put in place in the first instance for a minority of students, as the Deputy knows, who had significant care requirements and who would not be able to attend school without their SNA to give them additional support. As I said in reply to...

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: If they do, perhaps that is something we could be informed of and then we could revisit it.

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills: Revised Criteria for Qualifications of Special Needs Assistants: Discussion (21 Jun 2022)

Josepha Madigan: It is a good point. As I said in reply to Deputy Conway-Walsh, it is my view, not necessarily the Department's view, that since this is the first training programme in UCD, I do not see what barriers there would be to have that training programme for SNAs in other parts of the country in the future in different universities and higher and further education facilities. As the Deputy said,...