Special needs funding ‘won’t touch the sides’

Announcing the £6.1 million package for SEN and the disabilities transformation programme yesterday, Education Minister Michelle McIlveen said the money has been allocated to the Education Authority “to drive forward progress on a range of targeted projects to help deliver positive change”.

The minister said: “Our children with special educational needs and disabilities deserve a high-quality education which meets their individual needs.

“We must work together to ensure that services and support are designed and delivered to help each child live happy healthy and fulfilled lives. No one should be left behind.”

The various projects being funded seek to address the majority of the 150-plus recommendations made in numerous reviews and scrutiny reports that have been carried out in relation to SEN.

However, when the Department of Education announced the funding boost on Twitter, one SEN improvement campaigner was unimpressed.

Zoe McCullough of Orchard NI said the money “won’t touch the sides” of what is needed.

Killinchy Primary School principal Christopher Currie tweeted the reply: “Sadly it needs easily 10 or 20 times that on an annual basis just to plug the shortfall of basic need.”

In her statement yesterday, Ms McIlveen went on to say: “Transformational change and a reformed system is necessary to meet increasing demands on services and improve outcomes of children and young people with special educational needs.

“My department has been working with the Education Authority to drive forward this critical work and the £6.1million funding I am announcing today will enable further progress.”

The minister added: “Providing the right support and achieving the best possible outcomes for children and young people will remain a priority while the transformation of services takes place.”

There are around 67,000 children with a reported special educational need in NI, including those with and without formal statements.

At a press briefing on Tuesday, the Education Authority’s (EANI) director of finance said this year’s budget will leave the authority with a £200 million shortfall, and that children with special educational needs will be particularly affected.

Seamus Wade said that the EANI was £116m short of paying for everything they needed for children with special educational needs, the BBC reported.

In September 2020 a public consultation was launched after a scathing NI Audit Office report called for an “urgent overhaul” of the system to improve s pecial educational needs provision.