SNA cuts hit hard

PRIMARY school provides the foundation stone for every child’s progress through the education system. It’s important that each and every child has equal opportunity to fully engage in and benefit from the primary system.

Each child is, of course, very different in character and academic ability and progress at varying rates. The cutbacks in education funding in recent years, together with the increase in the pupil-teacher ratio, have undermined the learning process, however.
As the new school year begins, it’s not only more of the same without any improvement in sight but things have gotten far worse.
Out of the thousands of primary school children in Clare affected by the punitive measures, around 70 in particular have been seriously short-changed. These are the children with special needs, whose access to SNAs (special needs assistants) has been seriously curtailed or, in some cases, eliminated.
Irish National Teachers’ Union (INTO) representative, Seán McMahon has warned the 13% cut in the number of SNAs in Clare from 279 to 243 whole time equivalents would lead to significantly reduced hours for special needs children who need support to cope in mainstream education.
The Mullagh principal claimed children with special needs are effectively paying the price for the property crash and successive governments’ financial mismanagement.
Describing the cutback as “horrendous” and a blow for inclusive education, he sees it as extremely counter-productive in the long term to remove the reasonable level of SNA support from schools because of financial constraints imposed by the EU/IMF deal.
The National Council for Special Education, which makes the allocation on behalf of the Department of Education, offers hope of some improvement as the figure may alter slightly after September 16, when some of the remaining SNA posts are allocated to schools.
Parents, who best know the needs of their own child, have been thwarted in their efforts to get appropriate SNA cover for their children. One-to-one help is gone, except in cases of extreme need.
Some SNAs are assigned to a class and have to deal with a number of special needs children. This presents a dilemma as to what child should get first call on the SNA’s help and class teachers and principals are now being placed in an impossible position to make tough calls.
You can have situations where a child has physical limitations and needs somebody’s constant attention while, a few desks away, or even in a different classroom, another child with intellectual or psychological problems also needs constant monitoring. Is it to be the child with physical or intellectual disabilities one responds to first? It’s grossly unfair that teachers should have to play God in this scenario.
The situation, needless to say, is also completely unsatisfactory from the SNAs’ perspective.
IMPACT official, Joan McCrohan said SNAs are distraught at how children they support would survive in school without assistance, let alone succeed.
“Our role is as varied as the needs of the individual. We adapt in order to meet the needs and every day and every need is different. One of the most important tasks we undertake is to foster peer group acceptance. It is vitally important that a child succeeds socially. Early intervention in this regard is critical,” she said.
The principle of cherishing all the children of the nation equally is enshrined in the 1916 Proclamation and we have a duty to honour this by ensuring our very basic education system is accessible to all.

A successful sports strategy

LAZING about is not for Clare people; the vast majority of them at any rate. Since the implementation of the Clare County Recreation and Sports Strategy 2009-2011, major progress has been made in increasing the number of people living an active lifestyle.
Team games, athletics and high-profile individual pursuits, such as golf and tennis, are probably what most immediately spring to mind when it comes to discussing sport. Even the top indoor sports somehow don’t make the same impression.
Sport is so much more, however, and in the broadest possible sense, sport is there for everybody to explore and enjoy. The overwhelming majority of people are capable of engaging in some form of sporting or recreational activity, within their own limitations.
An evaluation of the Clare County Recreation and Sports Strategy has revealed that 85% of the actions identified as key to the success of the initiative have been achieved. A joint venture between Clare County Council and Clare Sports Partnership, which is administered by a steering committee, the strategy has Clare well on the way towards being recognised an “active county”.
The strategy has been credited with helping Clare become a popular venue for mass participation events, such as the An Post Tour de Burren Cycle, Clare Burren Marathon, the Brian Boru Tri Challenge in Killaloe and the Skyride Etape Hibernia. These events, along with several others that were well supported, have brought a financial windfall to local communities, as well as increasing participation in sport. They will also enhance Clare’s range of attractions to sell to potential visitors.
“The implementation of the Recreation and Sport Strategy has provided a platform from which a large number of new, introductory and taster sports and recreational events can be organised with a focus on individual or personal exercise,” Maura Johnston, chair of Clare Sports Partnership stated. The partnership provides tutor resources to organise, run and establish events and activities throughout the county.
“The challenge,” according to Ms Johnston, “is to ensure that community initiatives are developed in a sustainable manner, which will leave a legacy of awareness and encouragement for greater participation by women, young girls, people with disabilities, the unemployed, disadvantaged youth and older adults. It is vital that the people of Clare take the initiative to participate in individual or other physical activities to ensure that we have a healthier, balanced and a better quality of life throughout our lives.”
Since 2009, more people living in and visiting County Clare are participating in individual or group physical activities. Walking, jogging, running, swimming and cycling are among the five preferred activities of people of every age across the county. All can be enjoyed with little personal expense, except perhaps where an investment in a fairly decent bike would be required. There’s nothing to stop anybody getting involved in some activity; it’s just a question of deciding to go for it.