AQW 8373/16-21

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 02/12/2016
Answered On Date: 16/12/2016
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether he will be reviewing the process of Special Educational Needs statementing.

Answer:

My priority is to ensure that children and young people with SEN, and their families, have timely access to the SEN provision they need and that the entire process is underpinned by easily accessible and clear information.

In 2012 the Executive agreed that changes needed to be made to the SEN Framework. The new Framework will be made up of four key building blocks and will result in changes being made to the statutory assessment and statementing process.

The four elements of the new Framework are the SEND Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, SEN Regulations, a Code of Practice and training. The Act has received Royal Assent and the next stage will involve finalising the SEN Regulations, followed by a consultation on the new Code and training.

The implementation of the new Framework will involve the Education Authority (EA) having to make changes to their processes. For example the EA will have a duty to ensure they take into account the views of the child. There will also be changes to the format of statements and new timescales within the statutory assessment and statementing process. The new SEN Framework is to be brought in during 2017/18.