Government agrees to extra 390 SNA posts
The cap of 10,575 SNAs has been in place since the four-year plan agreed by the previous coalition with the Troika in late 2010, but has been maintained up to now by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn despite claims by parents and schools that children’s care needs were not being fully met. With rising demand for SNAs to meet children’s care needs, some schools have seen their allocations cut but the Department of Education has insisted the criteria for support have not changed.
The additional 390 SNA posts agreed by the Cabinet yesterday include 170 to be made available immediately in response to applications already made by schools to the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which allocates special needs resources in accordance with department policy. Another 220 posts will be available next year but a cap will still be in place — albeit at a higher level of 10,965 SNAs at the end of 2014.
