Good morning,

On behalf of the Education division of Fórsa, I want to say a huge thank you to all of you for your hard work, dedication, and commitment. 

We launched SNA Appreciation Day to bring school communities together to acknowledge and recognise the vital role Special Needs Assistants play in a child's education. 

The best-run schools are those where everyone, from the principal to the caretaker, feels appreciated and involved. 

We hope you enjoy the day today. Follow our Fórsa accounts online to see the activities taking place around the country, and if you have any photos of events in your school, please send them on to comms@forsa.ie. If you’re sharing on social media don’t forget to use the hashtag #ThankOurSNAs.

Over 10,000 of you took part in the competitions we ran. Today, we’re delighted to announce the lucky winners.

Our winning SNA members are:

•    Patricia Brophy  in Harolds Cross National School, Dublin 
•    Siobhan Woods in Aston Village Educate Together, Louth
•    Shauna Caffery in St Joseph’s NS Kingscourt, Cavan
•    Margaret Waters in Kilrush Community School, Clare

The winning schools are: 

•    Bennekerry NS, Carlow 
•    Casa Caterina Special School, Dublin 
•    SN Brendan Naofa Loughrea, Galway
•    St Annes Primary School Rathkeale, Limerick

Congratulations to all winners and thank you to everyone who took part in the competitions. We are very grateful to our sponsors Cornmarket, Lidl and Dubco Credit Union.

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to making SNA Appreciation Day a success. Schools have shown incredible support in the run up to SNA Appreciation Day, and our colleagues in the school secretaries' branch have been instrumental in distributing materials to facilitate this celebration.

Today we have four active SNA branches nationally and over 14,000 SNA members. Together we have shown that SNAs are an integral part of school staff and deserve respect. So, today and every day, we say #ThankOurSNAs.

In solidarity,

Noreen O’Mahony
Chair
Education Division