NI education: More than 100 schools refuse new SEN classes
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There has been a 50% rise in children with Special Educational Needs over the past five years
More than 100 schools have refused to create new specialist classes for children with Special Educational Needs (SEN).
That is according to a senior official at the Department of Education (DE).
Janis Scallon revealed the figure when questioned by MLAs on Stormont's Education Committee.
The Education Minister Paul Givan has previously said that more than 1000 extra school places are needed for children with SEN in September 2024.
In 2023, hundreds of children started the summer holiday without knowing which school they would be going to when the new school year began.
Rising need
Ms Scallon was asked by the Education Committee chair, Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, how the "crisis" of 2023 could be avoided.
"We appear to be entirely on a crisis footing at every stage through this process and I feel we are there again," he said.
Ms Scallon told MLAs on the committee that around 7000 children with SEN would need a new school place or to change schools in 2024.
She said there had been a 50% rise in the number of children with a statement of SEN over the past five years and a 25% increase in pupils in special schools.
She said the department expected to spend over half a billion pounds on supporting pupils with SEN in 2024.
Education Minister Paul Givan says there are more than 1,000 children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) who need a school place in September
Ms Scallon said the rise in children with SEN meant an additional 1000 school places were needed.
That meant there was a need for 66 new special school classes and 94 new specialist classes in mainstream schools.
"I don't want to use the word crisis here," Ms Scallon said.
"It is challenging but I don't want to give the impression that no work has been done."
Ms Scallon said the Education Authority (EA) had written to every mainstream school to ask if they could open a specialist class for pupils with SEN.
"Around 134 have said no to creating specialist provision," Ms Scallon said.
But she added that 80 mainstream schools had agreed to set up new specialist classes.
'They're just not interested'
Ms Scallon said some schools, who had refused to consider opening specialist classes, had concerns about not getting enough support or staff to meet the needs of the children.
Others said they were full and had no room or spare classrooms.
"Some, I have to be perfectly honest, have just said they're just not interested," Ms Scallon continued.
Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan asked how many grammar schools had come forward to offer specialist places.
Ms Scallon replied that she did not have the exact number to hand but said that some grammar schools "had come forward".
Earlier, Ms Scallon admitted that, when it came to children with special educational needs, there was "a lack of confidence in the system and its ability to respond to the needs of children and young people and their parents".
"Parents, carers, teaching and wider staff often don't have confidence that children's needs will be met early enough," she said.
Last summer, almost 400 special needs pupils were left waiting for a suitable school place
"An assessment and subsequent statement of special educational needs is often perceived as the only way of securing the additional supports that children need to aid their learning."
She said recent problems with school placements showed a "need for better and longer term planning".
'It is a crisis'
A number of MLAs on the committee expressed concern at the fact that so many places for children with SEN were likely to be needed.
The Alliance MLA Kate Nicholl criticised what she called the "ping-pong attitude between the department and the EA".
"If I were a parent I would be so concerned and I wouldn't be hearing anything to be optimistic about right now," she said.
"It is a crisis."
The DUP MLA David Brooks said he had been to a special school in his constituency which was so full it had to use a "storage cupboard" as a classroom.
"They are literally packed to the brim," he said.
Meanwhile, the Ulster Unionist MLA Robbie Butler questioned why there was a "presumption of mainstream" schools for pupils with SEN.
"I think that isn't child-focused, I don't think it's child-centred," he said.
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