Welcome to our SNA Newsletter

Hello from Pinnacle Training!

Welcome to the inaugural edition of our Special Needs Assisting Newsletter! We’re excited to bring you the latest news and updates. Our SNA course is one of our most popular courses, and we've been planning this newsletter for some time. Our goal is to release it quarterly to keep everyone informed.

We’d appreciate your input to make this newsletter as relevant as possible. If you have any suggestions for content or topics you’d like to see included, please share your thoughts by completing the feedback section at the end of the newsletter.

You can find details about our upcoming SNA course further down in the newsletter.

The role of Special Needs Assistants: Report on Focus Groups with School Leaders

This report was carried out in January and February of this year.  250 individuals took part in the various focus groups (across 6 locations) and some of the topics covered included:

• Role of the SNA
• Learning and Development for SNAs
• Recruitment, Retention and Diversity
• Discussions
• Conclusion and Recommendations

Report on National Survey of Special Needs Assistants

A national survey of SNAs was conducted between 6 February and 5 March 2024. 

It is estimated that a total of 21,000 staff were working in the sector across Ireland at the time of the survey. The survey received 13,465 responses (64% of the SNA workforce) in total. From this total 7,401 (55%) were complete and 6,056 (45%) were incomplete responses.

The responses reflected in the data displayed in this report reflect the views of those SNAs who completed the survey in full.

The survey is really interesting and well worth a read.

MINIMUM EDUCATION REQUIREMENTS FOR EMPLOYMENT AS AN SNA

Most SNA Jobs advertised from the Department of Education state the following:
Candidates are required to have minimum qualifications as set out by the DES Circular 0051/2019 (Click on the link below to access this circular)

The minimum required standard of education for appointment to the post of SNA is:
1. A level 3 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications, OR
2. A minimum of three grade Ds in the Junior Certificate, OR
3. Equivalent.

Although some job adverts are now including information similar to the following: 
Candidates are required to have minimum qualifications as set out by the DES Circular 0051/2019, though having QQI Level 5/6 in SEN or other relevant qualifications in areas such as First Aid certification, Lamh, ICT is desirable. 

In the Department of Education's publication, 'The role of Special Needs Assistants: Report on Focus Groups with School Leaders,' the following is stated:

Many participants agreed that the current minimum required standard of education for SNAs is inadequate and indicated support for raising the minimum entry requirement to a QQI Level 5 or level 6 in SNA related training.  This can be found in section 4.1.1 at the top of page 27 of this report.

Have a look at the NFQ (National Framework of Qualifications) diagram above

Something to consider:

• QQI Level 3 is equivalent to Higher Level Junior Certificate
• QQI Level 5 is the equivalent to Higher Level Leaving Certificate