PARENTS in Inishowen
who feared their children would be without a special
needs assistant in the new school term have been
granted a reprieve until a review of the entire
service is undertaken.
Schools that challenged their SNA (Special Needs
Assistant) quota will now retain the supports they
had as of June 15 this year, until the review is
completed, Senator Cecilia Keaveney has confirmed.
"It has been a tough summer for all concerned. I
commend teachers, parents and officials who have put
considerable time into ensuring that there is a
process in place for this review. We all await its
conclusions," she said.
The threat of cuts in the number of special needs
assistants in Inishowen sparked great concern in the
peninsula in recent months. It led to Special
Education Council ceo Pat Curtin and his team
meeting parent representatives in Buncrana in early
July at the request of the local senator. She
received an update this week that eases worries for
parents as their children face into the new term.
The review process will begin on September 16 with a
meeting of principals and Special Education Council
representatives. The review will be carried out by
two senior SENOs and the same criteria will exist
for primary schools. This means the supports in
place for mainstream classes at June 15 this year
will remain in place until the results of the review
are published.
A letter will issue this week to confirm that the
review process for post primary schools will also
begin for primary schools in the peninsula.
"This means there will not be a reduction of SNAs in
mainstream classes that was there at the end of last
term. This should relieve the stress of the start of
term time for a number of parents," added Senator
Keaveney. |
