Concerns grow over SNA reductions across Kildare South

Cllr Chris Pender of the Social Democrats has raised serious concerns following confirmed and reported reductions in Special Needs Assistant support across Kildare South, including at post primary and primary level, with further reports now emerging from local primary schools and the Gael Scoil.

Schools in the area have been informed of reduced SNA allocations for the coming school year following NCSE reviews.

These include confirmed losses at schools in Athy and Newbridge, alongside growing concern from other primary schools that supports are being reduced despite stable or increasing levels of need.

Cllr Pender said: “Schools, parents and SNAs are being asked to absorb cuts and uncertainty without any clear planning framework in place. We are hearing directly from primary schools and the local Gael Scoil that SNA supports are under pressure, yet the reality on the ground is that needs are not going away.

READ NEXT: Housing Assistance Programme (HAP) 'no longer working' for renters in Kildare - Cllr

“These decisions are being taken before new special classes are fully confirmed and before the SNA Workforce Development Plan has even been published. That is backwards planning.”

Cllr Pender said the situation reflects the wider concerns raised nationally by Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins TD, who has called for an immediate halt to reductions.

He added: “We have to stop moving supports around in ways that satisfy a spreadsheet and start grounding decisions in genuine educational need.

“Shifting SNAs from one school to another does not increase capacity. It just spreads the problem and puts children at risk of losing the continuity they rely on.

“In Kildare South, pupil numbers are rising, diagnoses are increasing, and schools are doing everything they can to be inclusive. Cutting SNA hours in that context makes no sense.”

Cllr Pender called on the Minister for Education and the National Council for Special Education to pause all SNA reductions until:

• The SNA Workforce Development Plan is published and consulted on

• Special class provision is fully confirmed

• Local school level needs, including at primary and Irish medium schools, are properly reassessed.

The Social Democrats councillor concluded: “Parents and schools need certainty. Children need stable supports. Anything less risks undermining inclusive education at the exact moment it should be strengthened.”