Tuesday 7th July 2015
- Extra 610 Special Needs Assistant posts for 2015/16
The announcement of 610 new Special Needs Assistant posts is a clear commitment to supporting children with care needs in schools. These extra posts mean that every child assessed as needing an SNA will have access to one. This will come as welcome news to parents across the country.
When a child is assessed as having a particular care need it is vital that the support needed is delivered. This is essential to help each child reach his or her potential and to help them get the most out of their time in school. With record numbers of SNAs we are now able to assist all children with an assessed care need.
SNAs play a critical role in our schools, helping children to get the most out of their school experience. Having 610 new posts for the new school year will ensure that more employment opportunities are available for SNAs. This announcement is a further signal on how important their role is and the value that is placed on them.
It has been a consistent policy of this Government to increase the number of SNAs in our schools. In the school year just finished we had a record number of SNAs, now we have a further increase. Beginning in September there will be 11,820 whole-time SNAs in our schools, that’s an increase of 11.7% under this Government. With this are helping and supporting more children in our schools.