IPPN

The following are extracts from DES Circular Primary 15/05 entitled
Contact of Employment for Specila Needs Assitants.

New Appointments

The revised contract has regard to the fact that all newly approved Special Needs Assistant posts are related to the special needs of one or more pupils in respect of whom the posts are sanctioned, and may be utilised by the school having regard to the needs of those pupils and the duties of the post. The practice of issuing child specific contracts should cease with immediate effect.

Existing Staff

Special Needs Assistants already in service on child specific contracts and whose employment is continuing for the next school year should be offered the option of transferring to the revised contract or remaining on their existing contract. The option of transferring to the revised contract is a once-off option and must be exercised on or before 30th September 2005. Those Special Needs Assistants who exercise the option of transferring to the revised contract will have their approved service as a Special Needs Assistant in the school reckoned for seniority purposes. Those Special Needs Assistants who do not exercise the option on or before 30th September 2005 will remain on their child specific contract and their future employment will continue to be dependent on the assessed needs of the child specified in the contract.

Review of Allocation

The allocation of special needs assistant posts to your school will be reviewed on an annual basis. The employment of Special Needs Assistants may be reduced from full-time to part-time or terminated by way of redundancy where the allocation is reduced. The selection criteria for redundancy will be on a last-in first out (LIFO) basis in accordance with the agreement reached with the representatives of the grade concerned subject to the contractual arrangements already in place in the school. This means that, in the case of redundancy, unless the most junior SNA in the school has a written child specific contract that entitles her/him to remain in the school, her/his contract should be terminated on the basis that she/he is the most junior SNA in the school in terms of length of service.