To ask the Minister of Education to detail any action he is taking to rebuild relationships with the schools that do not believe they will receive the required special educational needs support from the Education Authority.

The Education Authority (EA) has advised that:

SEN Capacity

The Education Authority (EA) recognises the concerns raised by some schools regarding the adequacy and consistency of special educational needs (SEN) support provided by the EA. In seeking to rebuild trust and strengthen collaborative relationships with schools across Northern Ireland the EA will continue to liaise directly with school Principals both individually and through established forums.

A key focus is on improving transparency, communication, and partnership working between the EA and schools specifically with the aim of establishing Specialist provision classes. The EA has developed clear guidance and support mechanisms to help schools understand the process for establishing specialist provisions within mainstream settings. This includes detailed information on funding, accommodation and the types of professional support available, as outlined on the SEND Plan website Establishing Specialist Provisions in Mainstream Schools | SEND Plan.

All schools establishing Specialist Provision classes have access to a wide ranging package of support including;

Financial support whereby, in addition to the ongoing additional funding schools receive through the Common Funding Formula, the Education Authority funds all costs associated with staff working in the Specialist Provision classes and provides other financial benefits to schools including, initial furniture and equipment funding and initial resourcing funding.

Accommodation improvements whereby the Education Authority develops a capital project to ensure the classrooms used for hosting Specialist Provision class are refurbished and enhanced to appropriate levels to allow the school to meet the needs of pupils placed in the Specialist Provision classes.

Enhanced training and development programmes whereby the Education Authority provide integrated support for schools with Specialist provision classes to ensure that staff working in the classes are effectively supported in meeting the challenge of delivering high quality provision and educational experiences for our children and young people.

SEND Statutory Services:

Every school will have both a named Education Psychologist (EP) and SEN Link Officer. The EP will meet with the SENCo alongside the Local IMPACT team link in the first term to ensure collaborative working and that the school is best supported to meet children’s needs.

In addition, the EA will continue in the next school year, to deliver training to all schools on the Graduated Response Framework for SEN. As part of the EDiS programme, SEN Statutory Services are developing a digital case management system to ensure there is better communication with parents and with schools, and this is scheduled to be live from January 2026.

SEND Transformation

In relation to children and young people who are at Stages 1 and 2 of the SEND Code of Practice, the EA is also in the process of reforming its relevant support services and how they can be accessed by schools and preschools. Eight separate services are currently being re-configured into a network of local multi-specialism teams which will be able to wrap their support more effectively around each pupil and their setting. This will include each setting having a known contact within the relevant EA team who will meet with them and their named Educational Psychologist regularly throughout the academic year to plan out and monitor the support to be provided. Settings will also be able to access enhanced support without the need for a formal request for involvement, including specialist advice and guidance helplines and access to solution focused hubs. The new network of Local IMPACT Teams will become operational in September 2025 and their operating model will be covered in the course of wider Graduated Response Framework training for SENCos across Term 1.