O’Keeffe insists cuts in special needs assistants will go ahead

THE move to start cutting assistants working with children with special needs (SNAs) from next week will not be reversed, Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe has insisted.

Despite pressure to delay job cuts until all schools’ SNA numbers have been reviewed, he said schools and parents have had sufficient notice of the cuts taking effect from Monday.

SNAs are appointed where a child has special care needs relating primarily to physical disabilities, rather than learning needs, although some children may have both.

The Irish Examiner revealed last week that the review which is prompting the cuts of up to 1,200 SNAs was only one-third complete by the start of December.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) was due to have finished its review of SNA provision at all 4,000 primary and second-level schools at the end of 2009, and the February 1 date was set so any children losing supports would be affected at the same time.

But despite the delay and calls from IMPACT, which represents around half of the 10,500 SNAs working in schools, Mr O’Keeffe said the move would not be reversed. The cuts were raised in the Seanad on Tuesday by Fine Gael Senator Frances Fitzgerald and Labour Party senator Alex White.

The minister said the special needs criteria which must be met to justify the appointment of an SNA have not changed.

“There was evidence that there were SNAs in schools where the special needs child had moved on. We indicated there would be changes coming at the end of January and those changes will occur as a result of the appraisals that have taken place,” he said.

The NCSE’s special educational needs organisers (SENOs) began to evaluate the needs of pupils receiving help from SNAs last April. In some schools, up to two-thirds of the supports are reported to be under threat, although preliminary figures given to the Irish Examiner last July suggest almost 10% of all SNA posts would be under threat.

“We want them to continue that comprehensive review but I think everybody has got [at least] three months’ notice as to what exactly is happening. We’re adamant at all times that the needs of special needs children will always be to the forefront,” Mr O’Keeffe said.

The issue will be discussed by almost 1,000 delegates at the annual conference of the Irish Primary Principals Network (IPPN), beginning in Dublin today. IPPN says other pupils will also be affected by classmates losing SNA supports.

“The department is narrowly defining the care needs of special needs pupils, which makes it almost impossible to access resources. In order to provide fairness, the minister should consider extending the date from which SNAs are withdrawn from February 1 to the start of the school year next September,” said IPPN president Pat Goff.

An Bord Snip Nua, the public service spending review body, recommended last summer that 2,000 SNA posts be cut to save €60 million a year. The department is carrying out a separate value-for-money review of SNA provisions.