Motion

Special Educational Needs and Disability - Investment and Transformation

Motion TitleSpecial Educational Needs and Disability - Investment and Transformation

Motion TextThat this Assembly commits to prioritising the needs of our most vulnerable children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND); notes that the current system for supporting children with SEND has failed to deliver appropriate and timely support for parents, pupils and schools; and calls on the Minister of Education to prioritise and invest in SEND transformation, to ensure that the End to End Review of Special Educational Needs produces an action plan that will be implemented urgently, and to make a commitment that all children with SEND in key transition years are notified of a school placement which meets their needs no later than children without special educational needs.

Motion CategoryPrivate Members' Motion

Date Tabled to Business Office06/02/2024

Date Selected By Committee13/02/2024

Date of Plenary Debate26/02/2024

View Official Report

Tabled By

Member Name	Tabled As
Mr Nick Mathison	MLA - Strangford
Ms Kate Nicholl	MLA - South Belfast
Ms Sian Mulholland	MLA - North Antrim
Mr Eóin Tennyson	MLA - Upper Bann
Ms Sorcha Eastwood	MLA - Lagan Valley
Mr Peter McReynolds	MLA - East Belfast

Bills

Outcome/Voting

The Motion, As Amended, Was Carried by Oral Vote

Amendments

Selected Amendments

Number	Tabled Date	Amendment Text
1	22/02/2024	At end insert: ‘; and to work with Executive colleagues to provide a clear pathway for children with SEND to transition from education to post-education settings’

Other Amendments Tabled

Tabled Date	Amendment Text
22/02/2024	Leave out all after ‘schools;’ and insert: ‘commends the efforts of education workers in the SEND sector, who go above and beyond for the children they care for and educate; recognises the incredibly difficult circumstances that they work in on a day and daily basis; further notes that declining real-terms pay has compounded the recruitment and retention crisis facing the sector; further recognises that support staff have not had their right to a 52-week contract honoured; further commends those education workers who took part in strike action in pursuit of investment in our children’s education and further commits to meeting the pay and grading demands of those workers; and calls on the Minister of Education to prioritise and invest in SEND transformation, to ensure that the End to End Review of Special Educational Needs produces an action plan that will be implemented urgently, and to make a commitment that all children with SEND in key transition years are notified of a school placement which meets their needs no later than children without special educational needs.’
22/02/2024	Leave out ‘an action plan that will be implemented urgently’ and insert after ‘produces’: ‘a costed action plan with measurable targets that will be published within the next six months,’

Tabled Date

Amendment Text

22/02/2024

Leave out all after ‘schools;’ and insert: ‘commends the efforts of education workers in the SEND sector, who go above and beyond for the children they care for and educate; recognises the incredibly difficult circumstances that they work in on a day and daily basis; further notes that declining real-terms pay has compounded the recruitment and retention crisis facing the sector; further recognises that support staff have not had their right to a 52-week contract honoured; further commends those education workers who took part in strike action in pursuit of investment in our children’s education and further commits to meeting the pay and grading demands of those workers; and calls on the Minister of Education to prioritise and invest in SEND transformation, to ensure that the End to End Review of Special Educational Needs produces an action plan that will be implemented urgently, and to make a commitment that all children with SEND in key transition years are notified of a school placement which meets their needs no later than children without special educational needs.’

22/02/2024

Leave out ‘an action plan that will be implemented urgently’ and insert after ‘produces’: ‘a costed action plan with measurable targets that will be published within the next six months,’

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Special Educational Needs and Disability - Investment and Transformation

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