What is the difference between Level 6 Major, Minor and Component Certificate Awards?

There aren't any classroom assistants such as exist in England.

From the DES circular:
The purpose of the SNA scheme is to provide for the significant additional care needs which
some pupils with special educational needs may have.
It is therefore important to set out what constitutes significant care needs under the terms of this
scheme, and which will normally qualify for SNA support under the scheme.

For a child to require or qualify for access to SNA support, a child must have an assessed disability.
The care needs outlined must be of such significance that they are beyond that which would
normally be expected to be provided to a child by the child’s class teacher, support teacher, or other
school teachers, or beyond the level of assistance which could be offered to the student by his/ or
her fellow pupils in school. The care needs must also be those beyond which could normally be
provided for by alternative supportive approaches or modifications of the classroom environment,
teaching approaches and/or assistive technology or specialist equipment.

The type of significant care needs that pupils may have can be varied, depending on the nature or
level of the disability or sensory impairment that a child may have. Given the variety of medical
conditions that children may suffer from, it is not possible to list all of the care needs that may arise
here.However, examples of the primary care needs which would be considered significant – and
which might require SNA support are:

 Assistance with feeding: where a child with special needs requires adult assistance and
where the extent of assistance required would overly disrupt normal teaching time

 Administration of medicine: where a child requires adult assistance to administer medicine
and where the extent of assistance required would overly disrupt normal teaching time

 Assistance with toileting and general hygiene: (including catheterisation) where a
child with special needs cannot independently self-toilet, and until such time as they are
able to do so

 Assistance with mobility and orientation: on an ongoing basis including assisting a child or children to access the school, the classroom, with accessing school transport (where provided, school Bus Escorts should, in the first instance, assist a child to access school transport), or helping a child to avoid hazards in or surrounding the school. (Every effort must be made by the school to provide opportunities for independence e.g. the
removal of hazards.)

 Assisting teachers to provide supervision in the class, playground and school grounds:
at recreation, assembly, and dispersal times including assistance with arriving and departing
from school for pupils with special needs where the school has made a robust case that existing teaching resources cannot facilitate such supervision

 Non-nursing care needs associated with specific medical conditions: such as frequent epileptic seizures or for pupils who have fragile health.

 Care needs requiring frequent interventions including withdrawal of a pupil from a classroom when essential: This may be for safety or personal care reasons, or where a child may be required to leave the class for medical reasons or due to distress on a frequent basis.

 Assistance with moving and lifting of children, operation of hoists and equipment.

 Assistance with severe communication difficulties including enabling curriculum access for pupils with physical disabilities or sensory needs (See also section 9) and those with significant, and identified social and emotional difficulties. Under the direction of the teacher, this might include assistance with assistive technology equipment, typing or handwriting, supporting transition, assisting with supervision at recreation, dispersal times etc.
The tasks noted above are the primary care support tasks for which access to SNA support will
normally be provided.

The following tasks are the type of secondary care associated tasks which SNAs will often perform, but only once they have been allocated on the basis of the primary care support tasks listed above. The indicative list of secondary associated tasks listed below is not definitive and is
reflective of the tasks detailed in Circulars 08/02 and 71/2011.

The associated support tasks which may be carried out, but which would not in themselves
normally constitute a reason for the allocation of SNA support include:
 Preparation and tidying of workspaces and classrooms or assisting a child who is not
physically able to perform such tasks to prepare and tidy a workspace, to present materials, to
display work, or to transition from one lesson activity to another. To assist with cleaning of
materials.
 Assistance with the development of Personal Pupil Plans for children with special
educational needs, with a particular focus on developing a care plan to meet the care needs of
the pupil concerned and the review of such plans.
 Assist teachers and/or Principal in maintaining a journal or care monitoring system for
pupils including details of attendance and care needs. Assist in preparation of school files and
materials relating to care and assistance required in class by students with special needs.
 Planning for activities and classes where there may be additional care requirements
associated with particular activities, liaising with class teachers and other teachers such as the
resource teacher and school principal, attending meetings with parents, SENO, NEPS
Psychologists, or school staff meetings with the agreement and guidance of class
teacher/principal. Assistance with enabling a pupil to access therapy or psycho-educational programmes
such as anger management or social skills classes, under the direction of qualified personnel
including class teachers or support teachers.
 Assistance to attend or participate in out of school activities: walks, or visits, where
such assistance cannot be provided by teaching staff.

Mod Note Threads merged, as quite similar in scope.