Education Authority’s ‘sub-standard service’ failing special needs pupils: PAC report

A review into inconsistencies and delays in assessment has been running for 13 years and cost £3.6 million but has not delivered a result.

A time limit for issuing statements is broken for nearly nine out of every 10 children assessed in Northern Ireland, audits have found.

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) chairman William Humphrey said: “We have been disappointed to find a culture within the Education Authority that has allowed it to continually deliver a sub-standard service for far too long.

“These weaknesses have failed both families and children with special educational needs.

“We were surprised to discover that the Education Authority does not know how many children are seeking to access SEN support – in the absence of such data it is impossible to gauge the real demand for services and identify the gaps in provision.”

In a scathing report on special needs provision, auditors last year found that 85% of statements are issued outside the 26-week statutory limit.

Auditor general Kieran Donnelly has called for an “urgent overhaul” of the system to improve provision for children with special educational needs.

He warned that the current system is not financially sustainable.

Last year just under a fifth of the school population had a special need. Most attended mainstream schools.

The PAC took evidence after the Audit Office published its report in September and published its own findings today.

The committee expressed concern over an education department review that aimed to address issues with SEN provision, including the inconsistencies and delays in identification and assessment.

Mr Humphrey added: “Given the obvious issues with SEN provision and the fact that the Department and Education Authority have failed to address these over many years, we strongly believe that there is a need for an independent external review of the effectiveness of SEN processes.

“This is needed not only to ensure that SEN processes are fit for purpose, but also to build confidence in the public and the families who are relying on SEN provision for their children.”

He called for an evaluation of all types of SEN support provided, with benchmarking and data collection to demonstrate the progress that children make.

“We do not know, for example, why there are so many appeals to the Education Authority about SEN statementing, nor why so many are conceded.

“We would also be keen to know why there are a higher proportion of children with SEN and SEN statements in Northern Ireland, compared to England.”

Education Minister Peter Weir said: “I welcome the publication of the PAC report on the Impact Review of Special Educational Needs. My department is giving urgent consideration to the contents and recommendations within the report.

“In response to various reports in this area there is a programme of improvement already under way which has seen a significant improvement in the performance of the Education Authority on SEN statutory assessment and statementing processes in recent months.

“My department is also currently consulting on a new SEN Policy Framework which will build on the operational changes which the EA (Education Authority) are taking forward with the aim of improving outcomes for children with SEN.”