Debate contribution: Special Educational Needs and Disability: Investment and Transformation
Debate contribution by Mr Pat Sheehan on .
- MLA
- Mr Pat Sheehan
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 26 February 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Special Educational Needs and Disability: Investment and Transformation
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4231197
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The beginning and end of this issue is that every child, irrespective of background or ability, is entitled to — has a human right to — an education. Unfortunately, all too often, we see that right not being upheld or being only partly upheld when children do not get the quality of education that they deserve. To illustrate that point, I will use the example of a case that I dealt with. In June 2022, a young child was transitioning from nursery to primary school. The principal of the nursery told the EA that a mainstream primary school would not be suitable or appropriate for that child, who was non-verbal, was not toilet-trained and had severe sensory issues. The EA, however, decided to put pressure on the local primary school to accept that child. After a period, the primary school felt that it was under such pressure that it agreed to take the child on an interim basis to see whether it had the capacity and the skills to deal with him. As it turned out, the school did not have the capacity to do so. The child's special needs were so complex that a mainstream school was not able to deal with them. What then happened was that the child was sent home. The child sat at home from September until February the following year, and it was only then that the vice principal of the primary school became aware of the situation regarding that child and contacted me, after which I made an intervention with the Education Authority . Only then did the child receive a place in a special school, where he should have been in the first place. That child's rights were not being upheld when he was left, for six months, without any chance of social or educational development. We have known for years that the number of children presenting with special needs or disabilities has been rising, yet it is abundantly clear that there has been no strategic planning within the Department or the Education Authority to deal with that. Every year, at the end of the school term in June and throughout the summer months, we see parents of children with special needs who are in transition years, and indeed, the children themselves, being left on tenterhooks, wondering whether a place will be made available in a setting that is appropriate for their additional needs. As demand has risen, advances in provision have failed to keep up. Within the EA, crisis management has taken the place of its statutory function to ensure that every child gets an education. It would be remiss of me not to mention the need for greater access to specialist support within schools. The Irish-medium sector in particular suffers from a lack of provision of special needs expertise delivered through Irish. It is worth pointing out that more than 20% of pupils in the Irish-medium sector have special educational needs or a disability. So, we have an absurd situation where children whose first language is Irish receive support from educational psychologists and speech and language therapists in the English language. It is therefore essential that the Education Authority-led review of gaps in services includes a systemic review of supports and services that are specifically tailored to the needs of the Irish-medium sector. The current provision of support does not take account of the bespoke needs of Irish-medium pupils who are learning in an immersion context. Cuts to the education budget and SEND funding have disproportionately affected children and young people who are already disadvantaged. That is not good enough. Our children deserve better, and our most vulnerable children deserve only the best support that we can give them. Our children with special needs are not second-class citizens, and the Department needs to take urgent steps to show that it agrees with that assertion.
644 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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