Work on the deployment of thousands of special-needs assistants (SNAs) in schools in the State is ahead of schedule this year, despite the temporary halt to decisions on the number each school will get, Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said.
“We’re actually much earlier this year than last year,,” said Martin.
“I think we have time to get it right and that’s important to get it right and I’ve already said that those schools where an additional need has been identified will receive that additional help,” he said.
Defending the under-pressure Minister of State Michael Moynihan, the Taoiseach said no one should be “in any doubt” about his commitment to special-needs education, and he has “been extremely hard-working”.
READ MORE
The numbers of special-needs teachers in schools should be regularly reviewed because demands change, said Martin, speaking in Cambridge University.
“Some schools will develop additional needs by virtue of children who come into the school, others will have reduced need over time if certain children who deserve the SNAs move on to another school. So that’s natural.
“I think the problem here was that there hadn’t been a general review for quite some time,” he said.
Earlier, Moynihan said letters sent by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), advising almost 200 schools that their SNA allocations were being reduced, were “wrong”.
The Minister responsible for special education said communications issued by the body, which is charged with reviewing allocations, had been “poor”.
“Clearly, we need a far better system, the communications was wrong,” he said.
A controversial review of SNA allocations was paused earlier this week following criticism from teachers, parents and unions.
Two-thirds of the 584 schools reviewed before the pause are set to retain or increase the number of SNA posts but 194 were informed of planned reductions. Some schools reported they would lose four or five positions.
The NCSE has been contacted for comment.
“We have to make sure that we are engaging properly with those [school] communities,” Moynihan said, speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland.
[ Pitfalls and problems: The Irish Times view on SNA controversyOpens in new window ]
Asked if schools would still lose SNAs in September, Moynihan said that until the process was reviewed, “we will not be scaremongering”.
“We will engage meticulously with all school communities and the families that have contacted us until the review has taken place.”
The Minister would not be drawn on a time frame for when schools will be told of their allocations for the next school year, saying clarity will be brought to them “as soon as is possible”.
“It will be done properly. It will be done in a way that the school communities, the families and everybody has faith in the process and understand every decision that has been made,” he said.
“We need a number of weeks to make sure that SNAs are in school communities and that they’re serving the needs of children within those communities.”
Labour TD Eoghan Kenny called on the Government to provide “immediate clarity to schools”, saying Moynihan’s remarks on Friday morning had only “deepened uncertainty”.
“He could not tell schools whether they will lose SNAs or what the time frame is for decisions that will directly impact children with additional needs,” he said.
“The promise of a meticulous review of the reviews raises more questions than answers. What does that actually mean for a school principal trying to plan supports for September, or for an SNA worried about redeployment?
“This looks like an attempt to buy time and take the heat out of this scandal,” the party’s education spokesman said.
