IPPN

Published: 09 February 2011

At a meeting yesterday between NCSE, DES and IPPN, information was given about a new circular (0006/2011) which will be issued shortly to all schools.   It will deal with the cap on SNA numbers and the allocation of SEN resources for the coming year.  This circular will have a negative impact on children with SEN and on their school communities as follows:

 • There will be a cap of 10,575 on the number of SNAs employed in all schools.  This is the total number employed currently. Part – time SNAs are aggregated to constitute full time equivalents.
• SNAs will be appointed to schools based on the needs of pupils.  There will be a move away from allocating hours under the heading ‘Access to an SNA’.  SNA posts will be classed as a quarter, a half or three quarters of a full post, depending on the needs of the pupil.  The Principal will have flexibility with how best to utilise resources.

Key dates listed in the circular
4th March:  On or before this date schools must notify the NCSE of all SEN pupils who will leave the school at the end of the year. This will include pupils who have completed sixth class or pupils who will leave the school for any other reason.  The SNAs attached to these pupils will lose their jobs at the end of the school year unless the school has new applicants for SNA support.  In such cases the SENO will defer the decision in relation to these children until mid June when a ruling will be made on every school’s allocation.

16th March:  All applications for resources must be submitted to the SENO by the 16th of March.  The SENO will only deal with complete applications.  Incomplete or late applications will be dealt with in the new school year.

21st March – Mid June:  In this period SENOs will do school visits four days a week, with one office day. The NCSE has stated that it will be extremely difficult for SENOs to take calls during this time. There will only be one school visit after the 16th of March and late or incomplete applications will be dealt with from September onwards.  However, the school will be expected to enrol new applicants as normal.

Mid to Late June:  All schools will be notified of their allocation for the coming year.  The SENO will not be able to inform schools of their allocation during their school visits as this will not be finalised until the national picture emerges.  The NCSE has informed IPPN that they are reasonably confident that they can provide resources for next year on a similar level to this year, thus meeting the needs of most SEN pupils.  They are however acutely aware that there will be problems at local level.  This may become evident in infant classes, which last year had a front loading of SNAs, but which will not be in the same position for the coming year.  It is likely that unless a pupil is actually receiving intervention from the HSE, they will not automatically receive support in Junior Infants.  The key word here is ‘receiving intervention’ rather than having a report stating that the child needs SNA support.  Schools will have to enrol pupils with SEN, and go through the staged approach, before applying for resources.  If it is then deemed that the pupil needs an SNA, this has to be provided from within the system, somewhere in Ireland.

• IPPN raised the issue that SENOs should be required to outline the rationale for their decisions.  The Principal must not be left in the situation of trying to explain to a parent why a pupil has lost support and neither the school nor the parent being aware of the rationale for the decision
• IPPN has grave concerns about the proposed timeframe of this process.  Schools will be notified of their allocations in mid to late June once the national picture becomes clear.  Any delay with these dates will bring the issue into the summer holiday period.  Principals do not need any further intrusions into their holidays.

This change in the procedure of appointing SNAs appears to be driven by the IMF/Department of Finance blanket ban on any additional posts.  It is extremely regrettable that capping SNA numbers will not only affect children with SEN, but will also impact on the other children in the class.  We have pointed out that the new process for allocating SNAs will cause serious problems in many schools.  We have expressed major reservations if a child with care needs does not have the necessary support to allow them access the curriculum on a par with their peers.  The cap on SNA numbers is coming at a very difficult time, not alone for schools, but also the country.  Let’s hope it will be debated publicly in the two weeks ahead.

Is sinne le meas

Seán Cottrell & Pat Goff