Debate contribution: Special Educational Needs: Crisis in Provision
Debate contribution by Mr Gerry Carroll on .
- MLA
- Mr Gerry Carroll
- Party at the time
- People Before Profit Alliance
- Date
- 8 September 2025
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- Special Educational Needs: Crisis in Provision
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5068759
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I commend the Members of the Alliance Party who tabled the motion. I disagree with nothing in it, but it needs to be strengthened, hence the amendment in my name. I am happy to support the amendment in Mr Gaston's name. I am at a loss as to why the amendments are mutually exclusive, but that is where we are. If you talk to any parent or education worker — I speak as somebody with several family members who teach, including in the SEN sector — they will tell you that the Executive are failing pupils with SEN. Each year, children with additional needs are treated as, at best, an afterthought. Last week, parents of SEN children found out about school transport arrangements at the last minute. Some were informed as late as Sunday night — the evening before their children were to return to school. Others did not find out at all. They just had to hope that the school bus would show up the next morning. Many children were stranded, left without any transport to school. The EA and the Minister promise that things will improve, but, every year, the chaos continues. Shamefully, pupils are left without school places, and decisions on school placements are made too late, which has knock-on effects on transport, childcare and much more, including people's life and routine. It is a perpetual crisis that only seems to get worse each summer. I note that some progress has been made in SEN provision. It seems — I emphasise "seems" — as though fewer pupils are waiting for school places this year than last year. There is some long-overdue progress, but, crucially, a lot more information is required on whether pupils are in the correct educational setting. I welcome the fact that a note on that will come from the Minister, but at least six children — one child is too many, as the Member for Lagan Valley said; six is far too many — with SEN remain without a school place. A further 100 children will not have a full-time school place until Halloween due to ongoing construction works. That is totally unacceptable, Minister. You need to sort it out; your Department needs to sort it out ASAP. At a protest this morning organised by Alma White and the campaign group Caleb's Cause, we were told that families are at breaking point. I support Alma, the other parents and their campaign. The current situation is totally unacceptable, and something urgently needs to change. Support should not cease when a young person leaves school, but, unfortunately, it does, and parents and carers are forced to pick up the pieces. Change should start with how we value and respect the education workforce. The Education Minister has shown a remarkable lack of respect for education workers. He is ignoring the red flags that they and their unions have raised, and he has attempted to criminalise them for engaging in lawful strike action during school inspections. That is not to mention the fact that more than 1,300 transport and catering workers are still on temporary contracts. There are 15,000 classroom assistants on temporary contracts. They deserve job security and fair pay. Classroom assistants are routinely subjected to violence at work and are hugely overstretched and underpaid, yet their work is transformative for thousands of pupils with special educational needs, especially those who receive one-to-one support. In making a statement on SEN reform in January, the Education Minister set alarm bells ringing by talking about how one-to-one support from classroom assistants is:
"not always the most effective intervention for children."— [Official Report (Hansard), 13 January 2025, p10, col 1].
It is true that not every child needs that kind of support, but families of SEN pupils and trade unions saw that as a warning shot, laying the groundwork for reducing numbers of classroom assistants. Perhaps that is where the Minister wants to get to, but it is for him to clarify whether he will go there. No matter how much the Minister dresses up the plans as giving schools greater flexibility or listening to "emerging evidence", families and the education workforce saw this attack for what it was: a cost-cutting exercise to strike fear into the hearts of families of children with disabilities and undermine children's basic right to education. That is totally unforgivable. If it is otherwise —.
Yes, I will.
It absolutely is, if you speak to people who need one-to-one support or if you speak to classroom assistants and parents.
I gave way to you: give me a wee bit of respect, Mr Brooks. The onus is on your party colleague, the Minister, to provide evidence. He is claiming that one-to-one support needs to be restricted, so he needs to provide that evidence. You need to speak to your party colleague and ask him to provide that to the Assembly. If the Member undervalues or does not respect, understand or appreciate the role played by classroom assistants, I advise him to go to schools that work with and support children with special educational needs. You are trying to downplay the importance of their work, but it is on you to speak for yourself and defend that.
Do you want me to give way? Do you want to speak? Go ahead.
No, definitely not. The Minister needs to clarify his plans for classroom assistants. To go back to the previous comment, if he has real, existing evidence or research to justify reducing or cutting one-to-one support for people who already receive it, he needs to provide that to the House, to the Education Committee and to other Members. To my knowledge, however, he has not yet done so. I encourage Members to support my amendment, but, if they do not, I appeal to the Minister to address the points contained in it.
980 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.06 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.96).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.07 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.03 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.04 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.05 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.96 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.06 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 13:03 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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