SNAs cap impacting on most vulnerable schoolchildren

A cap on special needs assistants (SNAs) imposed in December's budget is impacting on the most vulnerable children in the education system, a local mother has warned. Karen Halpin, from Hamilton Place in Trim, is mother to seven-year-old Luke who has Down's Syndrome. Karen and her husband, Ger, decided to send their son to a mainstream school, St Mary's Primary School in Trim, following an assessment which recommended this option, provided he had full-time support. Luke had full-time access to a SNA and was doing well at school but when a new child with special needs started at the school in January, the cap on SNAs meant that Luke now shares the SNA with the other child, leading to safety concerns for his parents as Luke is a "flight risk". She said: "It was working great. Luke was secure and very happy. We were happy and did not have to worry about his safety, Our only worry was, education-wise, that he would be able to keep up." She explained that, after Christmas, a new child was starting school in Luke's class which meant the SNA had to be shared between the two children. "Straight away, the alarm bells were ringing as Luke is a flight risk and will run off." Mrs Halpin said they wrote to the special education needs officer (SENO) and asked for a meeting to explain their concerns, but was told there was nothing they could do. They were also told there was no room for appeal. Mrs Halpin said this was nothing to do with St Mary's and has nothing only praise for the school, the teachers and the SNAs who, she said, are doing the best they can with the resources they have. She said no parent wants their child to be dependent on a SNA long-term, but feels that if the correct foundation is laid down, the child can become more independent as they go through school and require less hours. "If the foundation is correct, as time goes by the hours can be reduced. We want them to be independent but they need help at the beginning. If a child gets the proper start, it will pay dividends as they grow up, and even more so if the child has special needs," she added. School principal Coilín " Coigligh said that, while four years ago, the school had 14 SNAs for 16 children, this has since been reduced to 4.7 SNAs for 10 children. The school was approved for an additional 16 hours per week and, on this basis, the enrolment of the other child with special needs was approved, but the cap introduced in the budget meant that this entitlement was taken from them. The school had no option but to put the two children in the one class and share the SNA. "While three or four years ago, there was one SNA for each child with special needs or one between two, now in some cases there is one between three and I spoke to another principal who has one between four. It is getting worse and worse," he said. Mr " Coigligh said his objection is that finances are dictating matters, and not the needs of the children. He pointed out that if these children were in a special needs school, it would cost the state a lot more. Spokesperson for the Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) in Meath, Colin Quigley, said the cap on SNAs is an issue the organisation is very aware of and concerned about. He said the demographics show that more children will be coming into the system and this also means more children with special needs. He said the cap on resources and SNAs will ultimately have an effect. Mr Quigley said he is based in a small school where there is one full-time SNA. He said the work the SNAs do is invaluable. Mr Quigley explained the idea is that a child will become more independent as they go through school and said that the SNAs are very capable of ensuring that the child does not become overdependent.