‘Entirely unacceptable’ children with SEN still without school places – Givan

It is “entirely unacceptable” that hundreds of children with special educational needs (SEN) are still without a school place for September, Paul Givan has said.

The Education Minister told MLAs that significant progress had been made in allocating places for children with SEN, with the number without a school having reduced from more than 1,000 when he took office to 400.

Mr Givan said he was optimistic that from 2025 there would no longer be a situation where children are unplaced.

During an appearance at his Stormont scrutiny committee, the minister said an “end to end” review of SEN provision was nearing conclusion.

He said: “The position around placements for children with special educational needs for September of this year remains challenging.

“We have seen an unprecedented rise in the number of children requiring specialist provision in recent years.

“To date, planning has been on an emergency footing.

“Quite simply demand has outstripped supply.

“I can assure you my department is supporting the Education Authority in a significant programme of work to seek solutions to the capacity issues in the system.

“The current position is entirely unacceptable and must change.

“The experience of the last few years has led the Department of Education to take decisive action to ensure that for 2025 and beyond proactive planning for placement of children with special educational needs will be completed in line with projected need.”

Mr Givan said he was determined to break the cycle of emergency planning.

“I am optimistic that this time next year we will no longer be in a position where large numbers of children remain unplaced.”

Education committee chair Nick Mathison asked for an update on admissions for the start of the school term in September.

Mr Givan said: “As of this morning, 72% of all children with a statement of special educational needs requiring a new or change of placement have had their placement confirmed, 95% of P7s have a confirmed place, 46% of P1s and 25% of nursery children.

“We expect the figures for the number of children to have a confirmed place to increase significantly next week as primary one and pre-school places continue to be confirmed.

“I had indicated when I took up post that there were around 1,000 children that didn’t have a place come September, that figure is now sitting at 400.

“We have made significant progress in reducing those numbers

The minister said his target was to ensure that every child with SEN had a place by September.