Michael Cahill (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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270. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills to urgently review the recently published 2025/2026 SNA Review Guidelines and their impact on Children by the NCSE until such time as proper consultation with schools, SNAs, and parents can take place; to consider the important measures (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [51067/25]

Michael Moynihan (Cork North-West, Fianna Fail)
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This government is fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to fulfil their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective.

SNAs play a central role in the successful inclusion of students with additional and significant care needs in schools by helping to ensure that these students can access an education to enable them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential.

My department has been steadily building on the number of special needs assistants (SNAs) in our education system. This September there will be over 23,000 SNAs allocated to schools working in our education system committed to supporting and nurturing children with special educational needs, enabling them to achieve their best outcomes and reach their full potential. This is the highest number ever.

I can reassure you that that the allocation of SNAs for special classes and mainstream schools has not changed. The NCSE guidelines issued relate solely to SNA reviews and there is no change to the allocation process for schools or special classes.

All schools can apply for a review where they require additional SNA support, and we encourage schools to contact the NCSE to do this.

Schools can apply for a SNA review from the 15th September to October 24th via the NCSE school portal. This is to support the earlier announcement of allocations for the 2026/27 school year to align with the release of the annual staffing schedule, this was requested by schools to allow them to plan better. In addition, it also supports our SNA workforce and the implementation of the SNA redeployment scheme.

Where an emerging requirement for further SNA support arises outside this time the school can contact their NCSE special education needs organiser (SENO) as in previous years, to discuss the need for a SNA review. This has not changed.

The NCSE guidelines for SNA reviews for 2025/26 are based on existing parameters and circulars relating to the role of the NCSE. The criteria for the determination of a school’s allocation have not changed and are outlined in circular 30/2014. Any school who has a special class or who is opening a new special class will be allocated the base number of SNAs according to class category and this will not be reduced.

I wish to assure you where additional SNA resources are necessary to support the needs of students in a school, this will be provided as it has been in previous years.

Finally, I want to assure you that my Department and the NCSE, through all of our policy and guidance such as resource allocations, take a child centred focus and approach to ensure that all children in our schools with special education care needs are provided with a supportive environment and the resources needed to help them develop and be prepared for life after school.