NI education: More than 1,000 special need pupils need school place

The Department of Education (DE) has identified more than 1,000 children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) who need a school place in September.

That is according to the Education Minister Paul Givan.

But the minister told MLAs the current system for children with SEN was "quite simply no longer sustainable".

Mr Givan was asked by the chair of Stormont's education committee how he would avoid the "crisis" in SEN places which took place in 2023.

Then, hundreds of children started the summer holiday without knowing which school they would be going to when the new school year began.

A number of parents told BBC News NI that situation had left their children "in limbo" and held a protest at Stormont.

Mr Givan briefed MLAs on the Education Committee about the situation on SEN places in 2024.

He said that his aim was that children with SEN would have their school place confirmed at the same time as those without SEN.

But he said that would be "challenging" this year and would not be achieved "without additional funding".

Most children without SEN find out which primary or post-primary school they will go to in April and May.

"Not a single additional pound of capital funding has been provided to my department for additional special needs placements," Mr Givan said.

"We need to restore trust in the system with children, parents and teachers."

He was asked by the committee chair, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, what the pressures were for school places for children with SEN in September 2024, and how he would avoid the "crisis" which happened in 2023.

"The most recent figure that I had provided to me was that we were still looking at over 1,000 children needing to have a placement identified at this stage of the school year as we approach September," Mr Givan said.

The deputy secretary of DE Lynsey Farrell, giving evidence alongside the minster, called 2023 "the perfect storm".

More than 7,100 children are pupils in Northern Ireland's 39 special schools, while more than 3,800 pupils with SEN attend specialist units in mainstream schools.

Ms Farrell said more than 90 additional classes would be needed in mainstream schools in 2024 to help find places for the more than 1,000 children with SEN who would need a place in September.

She said the Education Authority (EA) had written to all schools to see if they could provide specialist places for children with SEN.

She told MLAs that the EA had reported that "it's extremely challenging" and "urgent additional investment" is needed to create more places in schools.

Mr Givan also told the committee a childcare strategy was a "top priority" for his department.

"I want a bespoke Northern Ireland model that meets local needs," he said.

But he said it would mean "a significant long-term commitment for the executive" as estimates of its cost were up to £400m a year "or more."

The minister also repeated a pledge made by his predecessor Michelle McIlveen for all children to get 22.5 hours in pre-school the year before they start school.

But he said enabling that would be "subject to executive funding".