QQI Level 5 Becomes Mandatory for New SNAs from 31 December 2026

On 31 December 2026 the minimum educational requirement for appointment as a Special Needs Assistant in a recognised Irish school changes, and it changes by a lot. The current floor is NFQ Level 3. The new floor is an NFQ Level 5 major award.

That word, major, is the part schools and prospective SNAs need to look at closely, because most of what is sold as an SNA course is not one.

What the requirement is today

The Department of Education SNA Workforce Development Plan, published in June 2026, sets out the current position by reference to Circular 0051/2019 on recruitment and appointment procedures for Special Needs Assistants. Eligibility for appointment in a recognised school currently requires a Level 3 qualification on the National Framework of Qualifications, or a minimum of three grade Ds in the Junior Certificate, or equivalent.

That is the whole of it. No QQI Level 5 is legally required of an SNA today.

The Plan is candid that this no longer describes the workforce. The first national SNA survey, in 2024, found that 70 per cent of serving SNAs already hold NFQ Level 6 or above, and a further 22 per cent hold at least Level 5. Eighty per cent agreed the minimum should be raised. The Plan states the existing requirement no longer reflects the reality of a well-educated workforce and the demands of the role.

What changes on 31 December 2026

The Plan sets out separate arrangements for new and for serving SNAs, both dated from 31 December 2026.

New SNAs will require a minimum NFQ Level 5 major award in SNA training, or equivalent in a relevant discipline, and must then complete an NFQ Level 6 SNA qualification within five years in service. The SNA National Training Programme is accepted for that Level 6 step.

Serving SNAs who do not hold a Level 5 qualification must complete a Level 5 SNA major qualification within five years of publication of the relevant circular, subject to exemptions.

And the floor rises again after that. In the Plan own words, after a period of five years the minimum requirement for recruitment to the role will be raised to a Level 6 NFQ major award in SNA training or equivalent.

The targets attached to it are specific: a minimum Level 5 major award in SNA training or equivalent to be achieved by 50 per cent of serving SNAs by 2028 and 80 per cent within five years of publication of the Plan; and a minimum Level 6 major award by 90 per cent of all serving SNAs within ten years.

Major award, not minor award — and why that matters commercially

This is the detail that will cost people money if they get it wrong.

A QQI minor award is a single component, typically 15 credits. A major award is a full qualification, 120 credits at Level 5. The Plan specifies a major award.

Now look at what the market actually sells. The three codes that appear in almost every SNA course listing are:

• 5N1786 Special Needs Assisting — Level 5, 15 credits, minor award. It covers the practices and principles underpinning the role of a Special Needs Assistant, to enable the learner to work effectively under direction in a special needs assisting capacity.
• 5N2396 Children with Additional Needs — Level 5, 15 credits, minor award. Note the title. This one is framed for working under direction with young children with additional needs; it is an early-years and childcare module rather than an SNA module, and providers rarely say so.
• 6N1957 Special Needs Assisting — Level 6, 15 credits, minor award. Same title as 5N1786 at a higher level, covering the theory and practice underpinning the education and care of those who present with special educational needs.

Bundle all three and you have 45 credits of minor awards. A Level 5 major award is 120 credits. They are not the same thing, and a course marketed as the SNA course, or even as a combined Level 5 and 6 SNA course, may consist entirely of minor awards.

One honest caveat before anyone writes off a purchase: the Plan phrase is a minimum NFQ Level 5 major award in SNA training or equivalent in a relevant discipline, and the Plan does not define what counts as equivalent. The relevant circular has not yet issued. So the safe position for anyone enrolling now is to ask the provider directly, in writing, whether the award is major or minor and at what credit value — and to keep the answer.

The Plan also commits the Department to work with QQI to standardise the Level 5 and Level 6 SNA courses and to review the existing award standards, which means the current code landscape is not settled. Our guide to NFQ levels and QQI awards sets out how the major, minor and special purpose classes differ.

The SNA National Training Programme

This is the funded route to the Level 6 step, and it is worth knowing about before paying for anything.

It was recommended by the National Council for Special Education review of the SNA scheme in 2018, designed and delivered by the UCD School of Education from 2021, and accredited as a Level 6 Special Purpose Award on the NFQ. It is fully funded by the Department and free to the SNA. Approximately 3,774 SNAs have completed it.

In February 2025 the Department announced a 1.9 million euro contract, awarded following procurement to Atlantic Technological University, for continued provision from September 2025 and running until 2028 before review.

Two points follow for employers. First, the Level 6 obligation on new SNAs has a free, state-funded route, so a school should not be paying commercial rates for it without checking eligibility. Second, it is a Special Purpose Award rather than a major award — the Plan accepts it for the Level 6 step, which is a specific accommodation rather than a general rule about award classes.

What a school or ETB should do before the end of December

The circular giving effect to all of this had not issued at the time of writing, so the operative detail may shift. What is already clear enough to act on:

• Audit current SNA qualifications against NFQ level and award class, not just against job titles. The distinction that matters in the Plan is Level 5 versus Level 3, and major versus minor.
• Identify serving SNAs without a Level 5, since they carry a five-year obligation from the circular, subject to exemptions, and the 2028 target of 50 per cent is two years out.
• Check Level 6 eligibility for the funded programme before commissioning anything commercially.
• Treat recruitment from 31 December 2026 as a different process. New appointments will need Level 5 evidence at the point of appointment, which is a documentation change in recruitment files, not just a training plan.

Qualification evidence is not the only recruitment obligation that bites here. Vetting is a separate statutory duty that applies to anyone working with children or vulnerable persons, including contractors, agency staff and students on placement — see our guide to Garda vetting obligations. And for the role itself, duties and scope rather than qualifications, see our overview of the Special Needs Assistant role in Ireland.

The short version

Today: NFQ Level 3, or three grade Ds at Junior Certificate, or equivalent. From 31 December 2026: a Level 5 major award for new appointments, with Level 6 to follow within five years in service, and the recruitment floor itself rising to Level 6 after five years. Serving SNAs without Level 5 get five years from the circular.

And the thing to check before paying anyone: major award or minor award. Most of the market sells minors.