North Kildare schools 'in desperate need' of additional SNA provision, Cllr says

Schools in North Kildare are “in desperate need” when it comes to SNA provision, a Social Democrats councillor has told a recent Celbridge Leixlip Municipal District meeting.

Cllr Claire O'Rourke explained to members that recently, Scoil Mochua in Celbridge was denied additional SNA support, which she said was very hard to understand given that the school has only three SNAs at present, and the fact that it is “one of the largest schools in North Kildare.”

Cllr O'Rourke told members that when she was canvassing for the last local elections, a constituent told her about a small school in Co Offaly which had “22 SNAs”, so that there appeared to be “some discrepancy” in how SNAs are allocated.

She said she would like the council to write to the Minister for Education and Youth on behalf of Scoil Mochua because they are in “desperate need” of further SNA support within the school.

In her motion, Cllr O'Rourke called for:

• An immediate review of SNA allocation at Scoil Mochua;

• Greater transparency in how allocations are determined; and

• A commitment to recognising the real and pressing needs of children who await assessment.

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Supporting the motion, Cllr Nuala Killeen (SD) said there is a lot of communication from schools and school management teams about this issue.

She said she believed there were some policy changes in relation to the provision of SNAs which had negatively impacted some schools in the municipal district.

Schools, she said, “are begging us for help” so that the council should work collaboratively with them to ensure a fair distribution of SNAs.

Cllr Bernard Caldwell (FF) agreed that the need for SNAs in schools “is really badly needed”, and while he was not sure why Scoil Mochua was denied additional SNA support, he fully supported the motion.

Cllr Paul Brooks (FG) said that with our populations growing constantly, our schools are “under pressure”, and the requirement for more SNAs is an ongoing concern.

Leas Cathaoirleach, Cllr David Trost (FF) said that while he supported the motion and would have no hesitation in writing to the Minister, he would like to see more information from the school as to the exact nature of the problem, or what exactly they were requesting.

Cllr O'Rourke said she could provide full details about Scoil Mochua and its requests, as she had “dozens” of emails and correspondence relating to the matter.

She would be “happy to pass this on” to Cllr Trost, she said.