Cork SNAs to be moved to another school in the area if their current support is no longer needed

Cork special needs assistants (SNAs) will be moved to another school in the area if their support is no longer needed where they are working as part of a new redeployment scheme, education minister Helen McEntee has said.

Ms McEntree addressed Fórsa’s education conference in Galway, and the union welcomed the scheme that will enable SNAs to move school rather than taking redundancy if SNA posts in their school are reduced.

Noreen O’Mahony, chairwoman of Fórsa’s education division, told The Echo: “Previously, SNAs didn’t know if they’d be employed year to year.

“It’s a needs-based service, so sometimes the job isn’t there anymore. We’d seen SNAs be made redundant with 10 or 20 years’ experience, and there was no deployment scheme like the teachers had. We’re absolutely thrilled this has come in, we’ve fought hard for it for many years.

“It’s going to save the Government money in the long run because they won’t have to pay redundancy, and schools are going to get staff that have years of experience redeployed to them within a certain radius — it’s a total win-win.”

Ms O’Mahony cited one SNA who had gone through four jobs in the last five years.

“Cuts happened, her job was gone, she got a job somewhere else but then, as she was the last in, she was the first out,” she said.

“With this scheme, we can hold on to quality people with a skill set that is absolutely fantastic for working with vulnerable people.”

Ms O’Mahony said that the SNA role has been developed through negotiations over the last 20 years that has established it as an integral feature of the school environment.

“However, the challenge remains to ensure that supported school places are available to everyone that needs them,” she said.

Figures provided by the Department of Education last September showed that 126 children with additional needs were without a school place. Ms O’Mahony said his scheme will help address that issue.

“The scheme will play a role in ensuring that number is reduced, because it should facilitate a smoother transfer of employment for an SNA to a school where their experience is needed,” she said.

Redeployment has been one of the issues under discussion as part of the SNA workforce development plan, and it is linked to the ongoing review of a new SNA national contract.

A ballot of the union’s SNA members will take place on the outcome of those discussions. It will cover the new national contract, a new minimum qualification, career progression, and training.