School SNA posts to go despite review delay

HUNDREDS of children will lose the support of special needs assistants (SNAs) on February 1 even though two-thirds of schools have yet to have their allocation of these staff assessed under a delayed review.

All SNA posts deemed unnecessary were to have been axed from the start of next month, but that date was set by the Department of Education last June when it expected the review to be completed by the end of last year.

The Irish Examiner has learned that the assessment of SNA posts by the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) was only completed at less than one-third of the country’s 4,000 schools – 1,013 primary and 308 second level – by the start of December and a council spokesperson said the review is not now expected to be finished until late March.