I see the DES, in its infinite wisdom and under the loving guidance of Batt O’Keefe, wants to significantly reduce the number of SNA’s in Irish schools. I also note that at least one Principal has stated that this reduction may cause some schools to review their policy on admitting students with special education needs. Nice work all around boys; you all should be proud.

Let’s set the record straight shall we? SNA’s provide an incredibly valuable support for some children with special education needs. Although they are not supposed to have direct teaching duties there are situations in which, if they didn’t teach, the child wouldn’t get an education at all because some teachers don’t want to teach children with special needs. I know this is a contentious issue and a bold statement but everyone knows its true. Though they be few in number, there are teachers out there who don’t want children with special needs in their classrooms and if it weren’t for the child’s SNA little to no education would be taking place for those children. Thank God we are only talking about a small number of teachers.

Now, here’s another unpleasant truth: some schools have held on to an SNA long after the child assisgned the assistant left the school. This isn’t right and it may well be the root cause of the purge we are going to experience.

Caught in the middle of all this fuss and bother are the children. I don’t know just how it is we forget about children so often; they are usually the first victims of what we call a recession.

No, I don’t have a solution. I just wanted to tell you two simple truths: a small number of teacher don’t want children with special needs in the classroom and the SNA is the only person educating the child. Some schools have held on to SNA’s after the child has left the school. Neither of these facts are pretty and neither are just. It’s too bad the children get caught in the squeeze.