AQW 23032/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 23/09/2021
Answered On Date: 05/10/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education (i) for a breakdown of the number of children waiting for an assessment by an Educational Pyschologist in the Strangford constituency; and (ii) how many weeks each child has been waiting for a statutory assessment.

Answer:

The Education Authority (EA) does not currently hold information at individual constituency level relating to the number of children waiting for an educational psychology assessment at Stage 3 of the Special Educational Needs Code of Practice.

The Strangford area falls within the remit of the EA’s Dundonald area office, and the total number of children awaiting assessment in this area office is as follows:

Weeks Open	Educational Psychology Assessment at Stage 3 of the Code of Practice	Educational Psychology Review Assessment at Stage 3 of the Code of Practice	Educational Psychology Advice for a Statutory Assessment at Stage 4 of the Code of Practice
0-32	59	17	70
33-36	0	0	0
37-39	0	0	0
40+	1	0	0
Total	60	17	70

As of 19 September 2021, the EA was conducting 2,029 statutory assessments. Of these assessments, 504 are open cases in the Dundonald office area, with 40 of these cases open more than 26 weeks, excluding statutory exceptions.