No reductions to special needs assistants for next school year

Priority will be ensuring that the child-centred approach to the provision of special education is retained and enhanced. File picture: Larry Cummins

There will be no reductions to special needs assistants for the next school year, the Government has said.

Education minister Hildegarde Naughton and special education minister Michael Moynihan made the announcement in a statement on Monday evening. 

Ms Naughton announced last week that she was pausing a review of SNAs following  backlash from schools, parents, and unions representing SNAs.

The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) issued letters to several schools advising them that they could lose part of their SNA allocation.

The announcement comes after a meeting with Government leaders on Monday night where it was agreed all schools reviewed by the NCSE and allocated additional resources will receive their SNA cohort in the upcoming school year.

No reductions will come into effect in the 2026/27 school year.

However, it was agreed that the SNA redeployment scheme, the SNA workforce development plan, and changes to a 2014 circular outlining the role of a SNA will be advanced before any further decisions are taken.

A Government statement said that "the priority will be ensuring that the child-centred approach to the provision of special education is retained and enhanced in these policy developments".

After these documents are agreed and published, the NCSE will commence reviews of supports provided to schools for the 2027/28 academic year, the statement added.