Crowe raises St Mark\u2019s SNA cuts in the D\u00e1il<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Speaking in the D\u00e1il today Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s Education Spokesperson Deputy
\u00a0 Se\u00e1n Crowe raised the issue of cuts to special needs assistants at St
\u00a0 Mark\u2019s National School in Tallaght.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 St Mark\u2019s school is set to lose seven of its thirteen SNA\u2019s when
\u00a0 government cuts take affect in September.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Speaking after raising the issue in the D\u00e1il today Deputy Crowe said:<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cCuts to SNAs in schools across the state are having a far reaching and
\u00a0 significant impact on some of our most vulnerable children. I believe
\u00a0 they are wrong and the implications for children with special
\u00a0 educational needs and behavioural difficulties cannot be overstated.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cIt is an issue that this Government must address and they cannot be
\u00a0 allowed to cut essential services from schools where SNAs have proven an
\u00a0 invaluable aid to many thousands of young people.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThe loss of SNA\u2019s was starkly illustrated in the cuts that have been
\u00a0 imposed on St Mark\u2019s National School in my own local area of Tallaght<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cFrom September onwards, this large National School on the outskirts of
\u00a0 Dublin will have its current allocation of 13 SNAs cut to 6 \u2013 a decision
\u00a0 that has effectively gutted what is an essential support for children
\u00a0 who have a range of learning and health difficulties.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cI cannot understand how a reduced number of SNAs will be expected to
\u00a0 cover Speech and Language Classes, where many of the pupils have
\u00a0 emotional and behavioural issues associated with their disability.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThere seems to be an inconsistency and a lack of forethought in
\u00a0 understanding how these cuts will affect the lives of children. Without
\u00a0 an SNA\u2019s support, how is a teacher expected to cope with pupil who is
\u00a0 dependent on Palliative Care or another who has multiple disabilities,
\u00a0 and confined to a wheelchair?<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cHow is a child who has a mild learning disability and various
\u00a0 impairments expected to keep up with his or her peers? Is it fair to
\u00a0 expect a Down\u00b9s Syndrome pupil with behavioural difficulties, or a
\u00a0 visually impaired pupil with Assistive Technology and a tendency to fall
\u00a0 and trip to cope without support or special assistance?<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThese cuts are hitting the most vulnerable.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 Schools like St Marks are also facing a double whammy with 49% of its
\u00a0 560 pupils, between the ages of 4 \u2013 9, not speaking English as their
\u00a0 first language yet additional cuts are resulting in the loss of
\u00a0 specialised teachers who support these pupils. Classes in the school
\u00a0 range between 28 \u2013 30, and the loss of SNAs will have consequences for
\u00a0 teachers who will find it increasingly difficult to manage such large
\u00a0 numbers of children with different abilities.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThe families of special needs children rely on the support of schools
\u00a0 to alleviate some of the pressures associated with having a child who
\u00a0 has a learning or behavioural disability.<\/p>\n
\u00a0 \u201cThese cuts to SNAs, who have made such a positive contribution to our
\u00a0 education system, mean a lack of support for children who will stand
\u00a0 little hope of being maintained and integrated into the mainstream
\u00a0 school system.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Crowe raises St Mark\u2019s SNA cuts in the D\u00e1il \u00a0 Speaking in the D\u00e1il today Sinn F\u00e9in\u2019s Education Spokesperson Deputy\u00a0 Se\u00e1n Crowe raised the issue of cuts to special needs assistants at St\u00a0 Mark\u2019s National School in Tallaght. \u00a0 St Mark\u2019s school is set to lose seven of its thirteen SNA\u2019s when\u00a0 government cuts take […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-272","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=272"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/272\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=272"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=272"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/seancrowe.ie\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=272"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}