‘Outdated’ minimum entry requirements for special needs assistants under review

The Government is considering raising “outdated” minimum entry qualifications for special needs assistants.

At present three Ds in the Junior Cert, or equivalent, are required to become an SNA. The qualification was last reviewed 43 years ago, according to trade union representatives.

Speaking at the an Oireachtas Committee on education on Tuesday, Minister of State for special education Josepha Madigan said the Department of Education is reviewing the qualifications required.

Ms Madigan said she believed the minimum qualification should be reviewed before the end of 2022 and then changed.

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She also told committee members that she supported accreditation of a new national training programme which is upskilling about 3,000 SNAs.

The UCD programme. which began in January 2021, is the first national training programme for SNAs employed in schools and is tailored to their needs.

Ms Madigan said outcomes of the programme are being reviewed, which will inform the future approach to ongoing training and professional development of SNAs. Part of that consideration will include accreditation.

She said she believed this process would be completed by the end of the year.

On the question of minimum qualification levels, she said her department believes a forthcoming review of the SNA contract proposed as part of the national pay agreement should be carried out and implemented first.

She said the scope and actual approach of the review are being considered by the department.

Latest figures indicate that there will be a total of 19,000 SNAs in the education system by the end of this year.

Budget 2022 provided for an additional 1,165 SNAs to provide support to children with special educational needs.

Of these additional posts, just over half have been filled, with the remaining 500-plus expected to be allocated by the end of the year, Ms Madigan said.

Most of the remaining posts, she said, will be filled by the exceptional review process, which allows schools to appeal against their allocation of SNAs.

Fórsa’s head of education, Andy Pike said Ms Madigan’s comments were a significant step towards achieving “genuine respect” for SNAs.

“We now have to ensure that the Department of Education delivers on the policy commitments made to the joint education committee,” he said.

Mr Pike told the committee that the refusal of successive governments to update the minimum qualification requirement had let down staff, students and schools.

The union, which says it represents over 12,000 SNAs, told the Oireachtas said the qualifications were “outdated and failed to reflect the role and responsibilities of staff supporting children with special educational needs”.

Mr Pike said, in reality, most schools sought much higher qualifications than the official minimum when hiring SNAs.

“The perception of all occupations is defined by the qualifications required to enter the profession... “ he said.

He said the role of the SNA is unique in that it covers both the health and educational needs of young people.

Yet, he said, during the pandemic, attempts were made to redeploy SNAs to the health sector — such as elderly care and disability services.

“It’s abundantly clear that the HSE would never agree to employ someone to carry out the range of complex duties required of an SNA in a healthcare setting, when the limit of the required educational achievement is set at only 3 ‘D’ level passes in the Junior Certificate.”