AQW 14714/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 10/09/2024
Answered On Date: 24/09/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for an update on when he will commence Section 4 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (Northern Ireland) Act 2016 in order to undertake a review into how the Education Authority and the Health and Social Care authorities have co-operated in their duties in relation to the act.

Answer:

The Department of Education (DE) is working closely with the Education Authority (EA) and the Department of Health (DoH) on finalising the draft plan on co-operation. Once developed, this will be discussed with the Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) as they are required to inspect the plan every three years after it is published.

Section 4 of the Special Educational Needs and Disability (SEND) (Northern Ireland) Act 2016 is not reliant on supporting new SEN regulations being made through the Northern Ireland Assembly so can be commenced as soon as the EA and DoH are ready.