31st May 2022
The Irish National Teachers’ Organisation (INTO) welcomes the allocation of additional SNAs for primary and special schools set out in Circular 35/2022, which issued this afternoon.
The union understands that an additional 1,100 SNAs will be allocated on foot of budget commitments and that the SNA Mainstream Allocation for 2022/23 will be based on the identified needs of the school on 21 May 2022.
Where an exceptional review that is still in progress awards an extra allocation, this will be allocated to the school for the coming school year.
Where schools feel they have an excess of care needs over allocation, they should engage in the first instance with their SENO.
Members are advised that exceptional reviews can still be sought and that such a review can lead to one of three outcomes, which include:
- No change
- An increase in allocation
- Where a significant decrease in care needs has been identified, allocations may be reduced
The freeze in allocations allowed during the Covid-19 pandemic has been discontinued.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has been tasked with undertaking a targeted review of mainstream SNA allocations. This pilot process will commence early in the 2022/ 23 school year and full details of a targeted review process will issue in 2023.
The Circular issued today follows the format of previous years:
Background to the scheme
- Role of the SNA (no change)
- Role of Management (no change)
- Allocation
- Exceptional Reviews: priority will be given to schools with no current allocation and new and developing schools
- Appeals Mechanism, including independent appeals process
- Medical and Professional reports
The frontloading model for SNA allocations will not be applied this year. The Department of Education has advised that there is insufficient data available currently to facilitate this model and therefore allocations for the 2022/23 school year have been made under the traditional model to avoid further delays.