Rose Conway-Walsh (Mayo, Sinn Fein)
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475. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to provide an update on the SNA workforce plan; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [43584/24]

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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I would like to thank the Deputy for her request to provide an update on the SNA workforce development plan.

The SNA Workforce Development Unit within the Special Education Division in my department is currently working on the first Special Needs Assistant Workforce Development Plan. The plan will introduce policy developments which will bring clarity and direction to the SNA service.

The plan is being developed in consultation and collaboration with stakeholders including school leaders and the SNAs, giving all parties an opportunity to provide input and share views on the future development and direction of the SNA service. The are five key areas that the plan will address:

– Pillar 1 - Review and development of the SNA role

– Pillar 2 - Establishment of a quality assurance framework

– Pillar 3 - Establishment of a SNA learning and development programme

– Pillar 4 - Supporting SNA recruitment, retention and diversity

– Pillar 5 - Development of a communications strategy

Research and analysis for the plan, included focus groups with SNAs in May 2023, followed by focus groups with school leaders earlier this year. The first national survey of SNAs which also took place this year received 7,401 responses, comprising 35% of the SNA workforce. Reports on the focus groups and the survey are available on my department’s website on gov.ie.

The SNA Workforce Development Unit also facilitated focus groups with teachers in September 2024 and the subsequent report will be published on gov.ie in due course. Feedback from the focus groups and the data returned from the survey will inform policy decisions and actions under the five pillars of the Plan.

Additional consultation and other work are underway to include

• Consultation with students to include the voice of the child in the SNA Workforce Development Plan
• Webinars to update the SNA workforce on progress to date
• A literature review to assist with policy development on the role of the SNA.

The Steering Group, consisting of high-level management in my department and external experts, who oversee the work on the plan has met 4 times to date with a fifth meeting scheduled for quarter 4 of 2024. Working groups have been established for each of the five pillars and there is significant progress to date in their ongoing work to consider a range of SNA related policy matters. Feedback from my department’s research in each of the key areas will also inform these deliberations.

The General Stakeholder Group and the SNA Stakeholder Group both met in May 2024 and are scheduled to meet again in November 2024 providing an opportunity for my department to communicate progress and seek input on the plan.

My department is on track to deliver the SNA Workforce Development Plan in September 2025.