IPPN

Published: 16 November 2017

‘The care needs of pupils are not constant but change as children grow and develop. In many instances, access to SNA care support may have been allocated to a pupil to ameliorate a particular difficulty that a pupil may have at a certain point in time, such as care support to assist with toileting issues, or a particular behaviour. The care needs that a pupil has may change over time. Many children will naturally have diminishing care needs as they get older and as they develop both physically and socially. It is neither appropriate nor beneficial for a child to have a permanent allocation of SNA support which would follow them throughout their school career without recourse to a consideration of changing needs. This could impede that child’s development of independent living skills, interaction with peers, or stigmatise the child though association with a permanent allocation of adult support, at a point of their development where this support may no longer be required. Whereas the NCSE will maintain the minimum SERC recommended ratios of SNA support in special schools and classes, all other SNA allocations which are made, from September 2014, will be time bound, linked to the provision of a personal pupil plan, will be made initially for a maximum period of three years, subject to annual review, and subject to a full reassessment of their care needs at the end of the three year period’.