Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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822. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps that she is taking to ensure that a higher education course (details supplied) for special needs assistants is accredited as a level 7 programme. [2285/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and would like to advise the following:

The national on-line training programme for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) is a major educational initiative, which will enhance the knowledge, skills and expertise of SNAs who are crucial to the inclusion of students with additional care needs in education. This is a high-quality and innovative pilot training programme which will inform ongoing policy considerations relating to future training options for SNAs.

The 2018 published by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) includes a recommendation for the provision of a national online training programme. Arising from this recommendation my Department awarded a four-year contract to University College Dublin (UCD) School of Education to design and deliver a new national online training programme for SNAs employed in schools. The programme is fully funded by the Department and delivered at no cost to the SNA.

The procurement process sought the delivery of an unaccredited training programme with a mechanism to accredit the programme in the future, should accreditation be sought. In their tender documents UCD indicated that it was intended to deliver the programme at QQI Level 6.

All SNAs who applied to complete the course with UCD did so on the basis that a Certificate of Completion would issue following conclusion of the programme. The subsequent accreditation of the programme was supplementary to this and was completed in line with the tender agreement. UCD is a recognised awarding body and completes accreditation of its own courses, as it did in the case of the SNA programme.

UCD has advised the Department that work has commenced to accredit the programme under UCD’s standard programme approval procedures as a Level 6 Special Purpose Award on the National Framework of Qualifications (NFQ). UCD is also considering how previous graduates from the programme might have their award accredited retrospectively.

There are currently no plans to provide a training programme for SNAs at level 7.

Reflecting the ongoing engagement with stakeholders on SNA issues my Department is committed to reviewing this programme after the four-year period has concluded. By the end of 2023, there will be over 20,000 Special Needs Assistants working in our schools and I want to assure the Deputy that my Department is very aware of the continuing need to provide appropriate training and development opportunities with a view to supporting the inclusion of students with additional care needs in education.