The government\u2019s screeching u-turn on cuts to SNAs was inevitable but raises further serious questions, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins.<\/p>\n
Deputy Cummins said:<\/p>\n
\u201cThe government was forced into this climb down because of enormous public anger. This is a victory for parents, school communities and SNAs. However, we now need clarity on what will happen next.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is clear the government is desperate to kick this can down the road for as long as possible, in the hopes public anger will die down. However, this will mean more uncertainty ahead for our SNAs and the children who depend on their support every single day.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe disastrous handling of this issue over recent weeks caused huge and unnecessary distress for families, school leaders and support staff. What happened should never happen again.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere are now three things that must be dealt with. The circular, which narrowed entitlement to SNA support to children with physical needs, must be amended; the Department must bring together all stakeholders – unions, parents and advocacy groups – to discuss the importance of and challenges facing special education; and we now need full transparency on and potential redeployment of SNAs.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is crucial that Government actively engage with SNAs, their union representatives and the wider school community before any further announcements or decisions are made. Engagement cannot be an afterthought. Trust has been damaged, and it must be rebuilt through transparency and proper consultation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is also another issue brewing in the background that cannot be ignored. The proposed overhaul of the Assessment of Needs process for children with intellectual disabilities has direct implications for special classes and special schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Department of Children has indicated that a diagnosis will no longer be required to access a special class or school, and responsibility now appears to sit with the Department of Education to put that into practice.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo details have been provided about how places in special classes will be allocated. Some form of clear criteria or metric is essential, otherwise special classes are no longer specialised. We must not unravel special class and special school designation especially for mild general learning disability schools.<\/p>\n
\u201cRemoving diagnostic thresholds without a robust and transparent alternative risks destabilising provision. Losing designation has consequences for staffing stability, enrolment planning, minimum staffing levels and community confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cSchools that have built expertise and culture around designated provision cannot simply absorb sweeping change while everything else is shifting. This may not appear directly linked to the SNA issue, but in reality it absolutely is.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur SNAs, our schools and most importantly our children deserve clarity, respect and long-term planning. Short-term fixes and late-night announcements are not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
February 24th, 2026<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" The government\u2019s screeching u-turn on cuts to SNAs was inevitable but raises further serious questions, according to Social Democrats education spokesperson Jen Cummins. Deputy Cummins said: \u201cThe government was forced into this climb down because of enormous public anger. This is a victory for parents, school communities and SNAs. However, we now need clarity on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":12900,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[218,581,7,678],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-16280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education","category-jen-cummins","category-press-release","category-special-education"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n