Member's statement: SEN Placements: September 2026

Member's statement by Mr Danny Baker on 22 June 2026.

MLA: Mr Danny Baker
Party at the time: Sinn Féin
Date: 22 June 2026
Type: Member's statement
Business: Members' Statements
Heading: SEN Placements: September 2026
Assembly identifier: Official Report component 5637699

Text

Another school year is coming to an end, and, unfortunately, as has been the case time and time again, the same group of children will not have a place to allow them to start school in September. Hundreds of children with additional and complex needs are sitting at home not knowing what is going to happen next. That is a shameful indictment of the Minister's failure to prepare. The Education Authority (EA) and the Department of Education told us to judge them by this year, and, once again, hundreds of children are being left behind. It will be those children who will be offered places that do not even exist. It will be the same children who will end up on reduced timetables that the Department and the EA have no record of: no one is even keeping tabs on them. What message is that to send to those parents? Those children will be excited and want to go to school with their peers. As they watch on, their peers will know where they are going, but they will not know where they will be. It is a cliff edge every single year. At this time last year, as Members drew to a close, heading towards recess, the Education Minister did not come to the House even though hundreds of children were being left behind. He was, in fact, in Florida, championing TransformED. Where is he today? Are we going to hear anything in the weeks ahead that will give some reassurance to parents? I very much doubt it. It is not just the Education Minister who is failing that same group of children. It is the Health Minister, too. Post-19 children are heading for a cliff edge. The very modest ask from Caleb's cause was for the Minister to prioritise preparatory work towards legislation to support those children. That did not happen. In fact, that campaign was gaslighted. That is shameful. As we head towards summer, when families need a bit of respite, it is a postcode lottery when it comes to direct payments. In the Belfast Trust, you may have 10 or 16 hours, but if you move across into the South Eastern Trust, parents are being told that a child can have only two or four hours because the trust does not want them to get too reliant on that support. What a disingenuous message to send to parents. The condition of children with additional and complex needs is not going to change nor is the support that they need, so why are they always messed about? It is the same families who are always messed about. Where will the leadership come from? With just two weeks left, will the Education Minister and the Health Minister come to the House to lay out their plan? I doubt that very much.
In the past number of weeks, I have seen more time in the Chamber spent arguing over something that has been vetoed. Hours upon hours spent debating something —
— that will not even happen.

508 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

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