Debate contribution: Special Educational Needs and Disability: Investment and Transformation
Debate contribution by Mr Danny Baker on .
- MLA
- Mr Danny Baker
- 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 4231228
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I thank the Members who tabled this important motion. A battle a day is what every parent of a child with special educational needs goes through in order to get any support. Parents are exhausted from the daily challenges and need us to be their voice and deliver real change. Children with special educational needs and their families are being failed by the current system. They are being left behind, and children deserve better. I have listened to families, worked with support groups and been left absolutely heartbroken by the experiences faced by families in our communities. It is important that the real-life stories are heard in the Chamber. I will share a story from SEN Reform NI. It is Alana's story. She is the mother of two children with autism, aged 10 and five. Alana's 10-year-old daughter was diagnosed aged 4 through her health trust, whereas her son was diagnosed privately aged 3. The fights, struggles and battles for support and services are soul-destroying. When she first applied for an assessment for her daughter, she was turned down. She appealed that decision. To her shock, with no further evidence, it was then approved. All the worry and stress in between could easily have been avoided. The struggle to get her daughter's statement within the 26-week period was difficult. She had to constantly chase up her application. The process left her feeling emotionally drained, and her mental health deteriorated due to that process. Already in a bad place from having to go through a broken system with her daughter, it was more daunting knowing that she had to go through it all again for her son, more worry and stress than anyone should have to deal with to get their child's basic needs met. That is only one story. Sadly, there are hundreds. Children deserve better. Whilst policy, legislation and reform are of the utmost importance, we all need to remember that it is the families of children with special educational needs who are under pressure, and everything that we do must have them at the forefront. It is important that children, young people and families have a platform and that their voices are heard at every level of government. Capacity across our special education schools and in units in mainstream schools is at breaking point. There is limited capacity for new pupils, and we are nearly at the time of year when parents wait anxiously to see whether their child has been given a place that meets the child's needs. This year could be even harder for families. The fact is that many children are being offered places that do not meet their needs or, in some cases, have no offer at all. Some children with special educational needs in mainstream schools can end up on reduced timetables or can miss school altogether owing to transport issues. All children deserve the best possible education, and I thank all the school leaders, teachers and classroom assistants who work tirelessly for children with special educational needs while under immense pressures themselves. Early intervention is key. Parents understand that, but the long waiting lists and the lack of cross-departmental working make it almost impossible. Parents do everything in their power to support their children, but many have to come out of work because the system is failing them. A cross-departmental approach would be a step in the right direction and a welcome change in the process. With the Health and Education Departments working in tandem, we can make a real change to the lives of children with special educational needs and disabilities. Educational teams, supported by health experts, will give those children the best possible start in life, because delays in early intervention have a clear knock-on effect on the next stage of their development. If there is delayed intervention in the early years of a child's development, families struggle to get their child statemented in time, thus impacting on their support in a mainstream school or their place in a special school. The Children's Law Centre rightly takes the view that the majority of issues faced by families have been caused by the unlawful operation of the SEN legal framework and by process failings driven by chronic underfunding. Education in the North has been underfunded by a cruel Tory Government for far too long. There needs to be proper investment in our education system to ensure a needs-based delivery of services to children and families. Sinn Féin wants an education system that delivers for all. Our education system should, at its core, operate on principles of equality and fairness, regardless of background or ability. We are at a critical meltdown point, and there are shelves filled with evidence from reports stating what needs to be done. Let us work together to make sure that Alana and the many parents and children out there know that their voices are heard loud and clear. Most importantly, we should deliver the change that they deserve, ensuring that children have free and easy access to supports and that they can flourish and reach their full potential.
851 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
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