AQW 29725/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 02/07/2025
Answered On Date: 09/07/2025
Priority Written: Yes

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) when was he first made aware by the Education Authority that there would not be enough appropriate placements for children with special educational needs for the start of the 2025/26 academic year; and (ii) the action he took following this.

Answer:

I was made aware of the scale of the problem in May 2025 and immediately moved to write personally to the schools identified by the EA as being in areas of priority need who could potentially deliver solutions.

I have consistently emphasised that priority must be given to our children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) in the context of an urgent need for reform.

SEN placement minor works are delivered under the minor works programme and includes works to deliver additional accommodation in special schools and specialist provision in mainstream schools for SEN placements, but the programme also includes pupil specific works on DDA works and other related minor works.

The 2024/25 spend on minor works was £46.76m, while in 2025/26 the spend is currently profiled to be £63.49m.

Following my announcement to the Assembly in April 2024 on SEN capital commitments and the positive response to the department’s survey, there was considerable momentum with the EA creating 178 new classes - 112 specialist provisions and 66 new special school classes, providing over 1,450 new special education places for the 2024/25 academic year.

The first Special Education Strategic Area Plan (SESAP) for the period 2022-2027, developed by the EA in partnership with the sectoral bodies, was published in June 2022 and covers special schools and specialist provision in mainstream primary and post-primary schools. Operational Plans were developed that translated the strategic plan’s vision into practical workings, with the EA publishing its Operational Plan 2 (OP2) 2024-26 on 16 January 2025 which prioritises special education provision, including a review of all special schools. The department and the EA continue to work closely to ensure there is adequate forward planning based on projected need for specialist education provision which is intended to break the cycle of emergency planning.

Furthermore, my department was successful in its bid to secure £27.5m of the Public Sector Transformation Fund through which my SEN Reform Agenda and associated five-year Delivery Plan will seek to ensure a more effective and sustainable model of special education provision.

It is crucial that we address the planning, process and communication around placements to make it a more positive experience for children and their families and ultimately to ensure they receive the most appropriate placement to meet their needs.

While responsibility for the planning for, and provision of, education places for children with statements of SEN rests with the EA, I am committed to working with it to break the cycle of year on year reacting to pressures and move to more strategic planning.