Schools will not be able to appeal cuts for at least four months
The National Council for Special Education will write to schools tomorrow about their allocation for the next school year. But Education Minister Ruairi Quinn already announced last Friday that 475 posts were being held back from primary and second level schools to cater for emergency applications, children who arrive into schools during the school year, or pupils who will be newly-assessed with a disability or syndrome that qualifies them for the help of an SNA.
His department is already paying 10,802 SNAs but has said it must reduce this back to 10,575 by year’s end to remain within a staff ceiling under the EU/IMF bailout terms. The additional SNAs in place are mostly accounted for by the recognition of 13 new special schools catering for pupils with autism.
