New national training programme for Special Needs Assistants
A NEW national training programme for Special Needs Assistants (SNAs) has been launched.
This is the first dedicated national training programme for SNAs and it will be delivered by UCD, funded by the Department of Education at no cost to the SNA.
The new online programme will begin in January and will consist of five modules delivered over a ten-month period covering inclusion, communications and language, a range of special needs and information on caring for students with additional care needs.
In total, there are 3,500 places available on the programme over the next four years.
Welcoming the new programme, Deputy Alan Dillon said: “Nearly 17,000 SNAs work in our schools dealing with the care needs of the most vulnerable students so they can participate in school life as much as possible and achieve the best possible education outcomes. This programme will help refresh and update their knowledge and skills and provide an opportunity for them to interact with educators and colleagues in a learning and supported professional environment.
“Providing support and training for SNAs is an important part of action priorities for special education and I encourage all SNAs to enrol in this national training programme. The programme is high-quality and was developed by University College Dublin (UCD) in conjunction with the Department and the NCSE. As it is an online programme, it can be accessed by SNAs at a time that suits them.”
The programme is open to all SNAs working in primary, post-primary and special schools at no cost to the SNA. It is open to schools to use some of the current training time allocation to facilitate participation in the programme.
The programme will be open for applications from October 1, with a closing date of November 16, with the first cohort of students due to begin on January 18, 2021. Application forms and information material is available on the UCD website.
Notification of the programme will issue directly to every school in the country over the coming days informing them of this important initiative. Further information will be published on the department’s website and via social media. UCD will be holding webinars where potential applicants will be invited to attend to meet the team and ask questions.