SNAs cap impacting on most vulnerable schoolchildren [meathchronicle.ie]
- Published: 08 April 2011
A cap on special needs assistants (SNAs) imposed in December's budget is impacting on the most vulnerable children in the education system, a local mother has warned.
Karen Halpin, from Hamilton Place in Trim, is mother to seven-year-old Luke who has Down's Syndrome. Karen and her husband, Ger, decided to send their son to a mainstream school, St Mary's Primary School in Trim, following an assessment which recommended this option, provided he had full-time support.
Luke had full-time access to a SNA and was doing well at school but when a new child with special needs started at the school in January, the cap on SNAs meant that Luke now shares the SNA with the other child, leading to safety concerns for his parents as Luke is a "flight risk".
She said: "It was working great. Luke was secure and very happy. We were happy and did not have to worry about his safety, Our only worry was, education-wise, that he would be able to keep up."
She explained that, after Christmas, a new child was starting school in Luke's class which meant the SNA had to be shared between the two children. "Straight away, the alarm bells were ringing as Luke is a flight risk and will run off."
Full Story: www.meathchronicle.ie
