Any SNAs on here?

[Papercompany]

In the budget last October the government announced that there would be 1700 new SNA jobs created. The SENO (Special Education Needs Officer) is currently reviewing schools and it appears that a lot of jobs are being cut.

The NCSE are saying that SNAs should only be required for primary care needs such as a child in a wheelchair or a child with diabetes, etc. They are saying that secondary needs such as movement breaks, helping a child to stay focused in class, escorting a child between their autism class and their mainstream class, etc is no longer 'needed'.

I work as an SNA and there are so many kids who need support in the classroom. Kids with autism, ADHD, etc. I think it so short sighted to take the support away from these kids. Any thoughts?

It's absolutely disgraceful. If this happens it will affect every child in the classroom and cause distress to those needing an SNA. Teachers will be under even more pressure.

Well that’s just ridiculous. Special needs don’t stop when a child becomes a teenager.

No it’s in national school too. The OP is distinguishing between primary care needs and secondary care needs. Eliminating secondary care needs as being worthy of SNA assistance means that an awful lot of children who don’t need physical care will be left unsupported. Many autistic children for example.

It is absolutely disgraceful OP. Teachers are begging for support and it’s being consistently reduced. Children are being completely let down.

Two Kerry schools are in the papers as having their SNA support cut. I saw it reported last night that Michéal Martin had advised them to appeal the decision. What on earth is going on?
https://www.radiokerry.ie/news/taoiseach-advises-kerry-primary-schools-to-appeal-decision-to-cut-their-snas-472175

Oh I misread it. That’s even worse then.

https://www.thejournal.ie/sna-job-losses-september-schools-6958969-Feb2026/

https://www.rte.ie/news/education/2026/0216/1558702-sna-schools-ireland/

The Department of Education said
“This school year, the NCSE will undertake approximately 1,000 SNA reviews in schools,” the spokesperson said.
“Of the 585 reviews to date, 68% of school will see no change or an increase in SNA resources allocated. Of the total number of SNAs in our schools at present, which is over 23,000, only 1% have been identified to date by the NCSE as surplus in schools.”

I’d like to know how many of that 68% saw an increase in SNA resources and how many stayed the same. That would be interesting.

Effectively they’re saying that they’ve cut SNA resources in almost one third of the schools they’ve visited.

‘Only 1%’ doesn’t sound too bad and then you realise the important words are ‘to date’. Since September they’ve already reduced the number of SNAs in mainstream by 230 approx.

Just saw there is to be a pause to the review.

https://www.irishtimes.com/politics/2026/02/17/minister-halts-controversial-review-of-special-needs-assistants-allocations/

https://www.thejournal.ie/government-pauses-controversial-review-into-sna-allocation-after-major-backlash-6959606-Feb2026/

I'm glad there is a pause but OF COURSE there was going to be a backlash! There's a real lack of joined up thinking from the powers that be...taking away SNAs would lead to some children engaging less with school and all the negatives associated with that.

If they want to save money they should seriously review the Hot Lunch Scheme....huge amounts of food going in the bin every day.

Yes, and if you criticise it you’re told the important thing is that children who need it get fed. As if anyone disagreed with that aim!! But there is HUGE waste and terrible from an environmental point of view too. Poor quality food (at least where we are) and yet another thing for the staff to organise daily. I absolutely agree with the primary aim of not letting children go hungry, as I’m sure does everyone, but surely we can do this better.

The NCSE, under the Department’s funding, aren’t doing anything that isn’t detailed in the SNA toolkit. SNA access is for Primary Care Needs, no amount of secondary needs will change that. While there having been freezes for the last number of years with SNA allocation no one can say we weren’t warned - not enough fuss and outrage was raised at the time the toolkit was published. Primary Care needs are easy to prove and provide for, secondary care needs are not. And all the freeze will do is ensure that schools who actually need more SNAs will be delayed in getting them. And there actually is such a thing as a school having too many SNAs, demographics change.

I doubt a third of schools have too many SNAs @CoconutSnowball.

You’re right that the outrage has been too long coming. I think there has been some confusion about it. During the last year I spoke to two professionals whose work involves advising parents of autistic children around school issues. Both were under the mistaken impression that SNAs were still being allocated for secondary care needs.

There has also been a step up by the department recently when it comes to ‘activating’ the toolkit I think.

If only Primary care needs are considered, a third of schools absolutely have too many SNAs, the criteria are that limited. There are single stream schools with an SNA in each class with no children with Primary care needs. I’m not saying that those SNAs and teachers aren’t worked to the bone meeting the needs of the children but, according to the NCSE, the teacher should be meeting those needs themselves. Parents are also being advised, following diagnosis, that their child will be allocated an SNA but no child has the right to access an SNA individually anymore, greatest level of need gets the greatest level of support regardless of diagnosis and is made at an individual school level.

Plus the onus is on the school to prove the needs via sufficient and appropriate paperwork. The NCSE do not observe children and classrooms any more, even when they’re providing behaviour support!

And the NCSE are not “eliminating secondary care needs”, they were never supposed to be considered nor form part of the role of the SNA. I know that’s not the case in reality but the successive freezes have meant that meeting secondary care needs have become the role of almost all SNAs in mainstream schools and, unless a school has been asked to produce paperwork for a review, the role has morphed into something that the NCSE never sanctioned

I qualified just as the freeze on hiring came along and ended up having to go into other work . Then I have seen an explosion of SNA maybe one or even two in a class. Now they are reviewing it . Are they just not going to hire any more as needs change with every intake ? Going to get rid of existing jobs and then find they need to rehire . So teachers now have to monitor this as well as teach . Somebody has messed up big time.

There is an issue with the 2014 circular...it gives a very limited scope to SNAs. Just medical needs really. It's outdated and does not reflect the reality on the ground. Most kids with autism wouldn't have access to an SNA if this was actually applied. And there are lots of kids with autism in mainstream classes (in addition to ASD classes). There has been in a huge increase in children with additional needs such as ASD and ADHD - I work in a large Primary school and there are kids who would not be able to sit in class and focus without the support of an SNA.

On a related topic there are newly qualified Teachers who will tell you that they spent four years in Mary Isle or did the Hibernian course but were taught very little about autism. It really should form a core part of the Training that they receive. It's a rare class that doesn't have any child with an additional needs of some sort.

@Papercompany you’re correct, the circular is update but a revised erosion of the Toolkit was published in 2024 and there was no outcry then either.

The 2024 update is contradictory in places.

For example under toileting, preserving the dignity of the pupil is a primary care need, but adjusting clothing following toileting is not. I can’t work that out.