Debate contribution: Special Educational Needs Coordinators

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 28 April 2026.

MLA

Mr Paul Givan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

28 April 2026

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Special Educational Needs Coordinators

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 5510295

Read the official Assembly record

Text

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Member for tabling the motion, which I will support. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the debate and record my appreciation for the critical role that special educational needs coordinators play in our schools. I have witnessed at first hand the dedication and professionalism of that vital workforce, and the positive impact that it has on the lives of young people with special educational needs not just in my role as Education Minister but in my 16 years of having been an MLA in Lagan Valley and, previously, having served as a councillor from 2005. I know very well the importance of SENCOs to our schools and the important role that is played by our classroom assistants. I will therefore take the opportunity to commend the remarkable work that they do, often in exceptionally challenging circumstances. The SENCO role is, without question, highly demanding and has become significantly more challenging in recent years, as rising numbers of children with special educational needs coincide with pressures created by increasingly constrained budgets. In the face of those pressures, however, SENCOs continue to show remarkable resilience and dedication, working tirelessly to ensure that the children and young people in their schools receive the support that they need. It is not enough for me to stand here and offer words of thanks to SENCOs for their hard work and commitment, when so many have spoken so candidly about the real and pressing impact that unsustainable workloads have on their personal and family lives, their mental health and their overall well-being. I want to give clear assurances that those concerns are heard and that they are being taken seriously. Urgent action is required, and my officials are working closely in partnership with the Education Authority to deliver meaningful and sustainable solutions. In May 2025, I appointed an independent panel to undertake a comprehensive review of teacher workload, showing my determination to address the issue. Earlier today, I published an action plan that will translate that panel's recommendations into practical and deliverable measures that support well-being, professional autonomy and sustainable workload practices across schools. Alongside that, the forthcoming Special Educational Needs (SEN) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2026 will place a clear statutory duty on boards of governors to ensure that SENCOs are provided with the protected non-teaching time necessary to fulfil their role effectively. That represents a significant and tangible strengthening of support for SENCOs across all schools.

Since 2021, the Department of Education has provided £92·5 million in funding to enable schools to release SENCOs from the timetable, thus allowing them dedicated time to prepare for the implementation of the new regulations, which include the introduction of personal learning plans. Newly appointed SENCOs are able to avail themselves of specialised SENCO induction training, which, they report, is highly valuable for building confidence, role clarity and a practical understanding of SEN processes. Furthermore, last month, the EA delivered dedicated leadership, management and health and well-being training for primary-school SENCOs. In addition to the existing support that is available, the EA has developed an enhanced package for schools that are establishing specialist provisions. Central to that package is dedicated SENCO release time of one month to stabilise the new provisions, with a further one day of release per month per class on an ongoing basis. Each school will also receive £10,000 to cover administrative responsibilities, which will free up SENCOs to focus on pupils rather than on paperwork. To strengthen whole-school SEN capacity and to reduce reliance on SENCOs, up to 20% of mainstream teachers and up to five classroom assistants will receive targeted SEN training, supported by up to five days' release. Each setting will be supported by the EA specialist provision service through a dedicated advisory teacher, universal and targeted training and specialist input for individual pupils, where required. Those actions represent a further step forward, building on the extensive and ongoing work that the EA has progressed in order to streamline SEN processes and reduce the administrative burden on schools. That is the result of listening and then acting. The local impact teams that were introduced in September 2025 were designed with the intention of removing barriers to services, reducing unnecessary bureaucracy and promoting more equitable access to support. Central to that work has been the introduction of a single request for involvement portal, which enables SENCOs to engage with EA services through one streamlined process. SENCOs were closely involved in shaping and testing the portal to ensure that it reflected the realities of day-to-day practice. Their ongoing feedback continues to inform implementation through the SENCO continuous reference group, which focuses on identifying strengths and challenges with the local impact teams and with educational psychology service models, thus ensuring that practitioners remain central to the wider programme of SEN reform. Through the SEN reform agenda, I have articulated the need for sustained and meaningful investment in our education workforce. The central action in the SEN delivery plan is the design and delivery of a dedicated leadership programme for SENCOs. I am pleased to advise that the initial scoping work is already under way. It is looking carefully at existing training provision and best practice in other jurisdictions. The next phase will involve a comprehensive co-design process with SENCOs themselves, which will ensure that the programme is firmly grounded in lived experience and delivers practically meaningful training that responds directly to the challenges that they face. Alongside that, a key strand of the EA's enhanced support model will focus on how the SENCO role itself can be better supported and strengthened. In some schools, that may involve establishing the SENCO as a dedicated role that is free from teaching responsibilities, enabling SENCOs to focus fully on supporting children and young people with special educational needs. In other settings, it may mean developing a wider skilled team that is trained across the five areas of special educational needs so that the SENCO is properly supported and able to balance leadership responsibilities and some teaching commitment. That flexible approach recognises the diversity of school contexts while ensuring that SENCOs are given the support that they need to carry out their role effectively. The EA is consulting on the enhanced support model. It is essential that that work be shaped by the voices of those with lived experience. That means listening carefully to parents and carers, to children and young people and to those working every day in our schools. Some Members have called for a pause in the programme of SEN reform, yet some of the same voices that have asked for a pause frequently argue that progress on SEN reform is too slow. The two positions cannot be reconciled.

Sinéad McLaughlin challenged me at the very end of her contribution when she said that it is action that is needed. That is contrary to calling for a pause in the process. Mr Sheehan wants me to give way.

1,160 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 15:31 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

Disagree with this assessment?

Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.

Challenge this classification