Holly Cairns (Cork South West, Social Democrats)
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255. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the steps she is taking to encourage special needs assistants to undertake continuing professional development through Irish universities and institutes of technology. [6625/23]

Josepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for the question and reassure her that the provision of education for children with special needs is a priority for Government and for me as Minister for Special Education and Inclusion. This is reflected in my Department’s 2023 budget allocation of more than €2.6 billion to support special education. This level of educational funding and support is unprecedented and represents in excess of 27% of the Department of Education’s total allocation for 2023.

Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) provide schools with additional adult support staff to assist children with additional care needs. Such support is provided in order to facilitate attendance by those pupils at school and also to minimise disruption to class or teaching time for the pupils concerned, or for their peers, and with a view to developing their independent living skills.

The 2018 Review of the Special Needs Assistant Scheme 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 national on-line training programme for 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.

Approximately 1,300 SNAs have completed the course to date and it is intended that the programme will be delivered to up to 3,500 SNAs over the four year scheme funded by my Department.

Reflecting 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.

In this regard, in December 2022 my Department established a dedicated SNA Workforce Development Unit within our Special Education Section, in order to ensure that sufficient time and attention is given to examination of the SNA role and any reform or development required.

This allows for a more strategic approach to policy and other developments in this area, including in the area of learning and development for SNAs and delivering an enhanced SNA service.