Written answers

Tuesday, 27 September 2022

Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth

Special Educational Needs

Photo of Jim O'CallaghanJim O'Callaghan (Dublin Bay South, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

339. To ask the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth if SNAs can be secured under the access-and-inclusion funding model in Montessori schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [46579/22]

Photo of Roderic O'GormanRoderic O'Gorman (Dublin West, Green Party)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Access and Inclusion Model (AIM) is a model of supports designed to ensure that children with disabilities can access the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Programme. Its goal is to empower pre-school providers to deliver an inclusive pre-school experience, ensuring that every eligible child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE Programme and reap the benefits of high quality early learning and care.

AIM supports are grouped into universal or targeted. Universal supports are designed to create a more inclusive culture in early learning and care settings, through training courses and qualifications for staff. Where universal supports are not enough to meet the needs of an individual child, targeted supports are available to ensure the child can meaningfully participate in the ECCE programme

AIM level 7 support provides additional funding to pre-schools who have a child requiring extra support. Providers can use this funding either to reduce the child-to-adult ratio in the pre-school room or to fund an extra staff member as a shared resource with other children in the ECCE setting.

AIM does not fund Special Needs Assistants (SNAs). Accordingly, any staff member hired under AIM is a shared resource for all children in the pre-school room and one additional staff member may be deemed to be sufficient to meet the needs of two or more children who have been granted additional capitation, where these children are attending the same pre-school session.

Staff hired under AIM Level 7 must satisfy the qualification requirements of the Early Years Services Regulations 2016, which stipulate that all staff working in pre-school services must have, at minimum, a major award in Early Childhood Care and Education at Level 5 of the National Framework for Qualifications (NFQ) or a qualification deemed by the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to be equivalent. The DCEDIY approved list of Early Years recognised qualifications can be found at the following link: www.gov.ie/en/publication/297c05-early-years-recognised-qualifications/.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.