There has been great frustration, as articulated by my colleagues, felt in communities across the country following the recent announced reviews of the special SNA allocations. That includes many schools in my constituency. One of the largest reductions was to be in St. Andrew's National School, but quite a few other schools were affected as well. Thankfully, that has been halted for now. The Government has repeatedly stated that the overall number of SNAs is increasing. In absolute terms, it is true that the national figure has gone up. However, that headline does not always reflect the lived reality in many schools that would have seen their allocations cut as a direct result of what appears to be a very arbitrary review which does not take the needs of the child into account. We can never pretend that a national increase is going to give that support on the ground. What matters to a parent or the child is whether the school has the staff numbers to meet their needs. Sometimes it is necessary to share an SNA and the nature of that sharing can change for day-to-day purposes. There are a lot of challenges for kids who require supports. Every time I have spoken with teachers, staff and parents, the same story is coming through. Children who previously had a dedicated support were being asked to share an SNA, were seeing the SNA being taken away or were being asked to do more with less, basically. The question is whether this new model the Government is articulating really is more equitable and focused on the needs of the child. If we are increasing the numbers, there should not be anyone seeing a decrease or anyone having to scramble for cover. Children have many complex diagnoses. We cannot suddenly say that a child does not need that level of support any more. If a review results in vulnerable children losing access to support, the model is not working. Maybe this pause or stop until the bigger picture is looked at next year shows that. In this context, I want to raise an issue. I am not absolutely sure how it is actually working. My understanding is that officials are going out and asking SNAs to tell them about their day. The SNA will say they put little Johnny's coat on, they had to bring little Jane to the toilet - just normal conversation. In doing so, it sometimes puts the school at risk because the reason a child requires an SNA in the first place is not taken into account. I would seriously question the reason SNAs are being asked about their day-to-day work when it is educational psychologists who assess a child's needs. The SNA is then allocated on the basis of the identified needs. SNAs, who have level 5 qualifications, often want to progress their career pathways but they are absolutely not educational psychologists. Interviewing SNAs is not the way to go, if that is the case. I call on the Minister and her colleagues in government to urgently revisit the allocations beyond 2027 so that nobody loses out the year after, and to engage meaningfully with the educators on the ground who understand the absolute and often urgent needs of the child.

Sentiment score: 0.14