(Ireland) Enniscorthy: School with 7 special classes short of aides; "growing demand"
- 27 minutes ago
- 2 min read
St Aidans School in Enniscorthy is facing a growing challenge to meet the needs of its students with special educational needs as the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) fails to provide adequate SNA (Special Needs Assistant) support.
The school, which caters to almost 870 pupils and houses seven special classes has long been a haven for students with special needs. Despite this, the school is currently struggling to get enough SNA support. Principal Frank Murphy and Vice principal Carmen Kelly have voiced their frustration over the cumbersome application process to the NCSE, which they claim is more focused on paperwork than actual care for students.
The school's SNA Allocation has been insufficient and the process to apply for more has been described as “unbelievably time-consuming.” Teachers and staff have spent countless hours compiling paperwork for the NCSE, only to receive vague responses and delays in receiving the necessary support.
Despite a growing demand for services—36 children with autism and multiple others with medical needs—the school is only allocated 15.75 SNA positions. Many children are going without crucial support, as the NCSE has advised the school to “reprioritize” needs, but the staff says it’s impossible to keep up with the demand.
The lack of adequate support is also impacting mainstream students. Carmen Kelly explains that children with emotional and social needs are often left without adequate support because there simply aren’t enough SNAs to go around. She warns that this lack of early intervention could have long-term effects on the children’s development.
Despite these challenges, St Aidans has not received clear reasoning from the NCSE about why it cannot receive more SNA support. The school’s leadership has repeatedly asked for a “rationale” behind the decision but has yet to receive a response.
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