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At a Governance and Strategic Panning Committee meeting on Tuesday, March 5, the DE’s Director of Inclusion, Janis Scallon, advised Derry City and Strabane District councillors that SEN schools were “hugely over capacity”, while SEN provisions in mainstream schools were not fit for purpose.

“Our vision is for all children in Northern Ireland to be happy, learning and succeeding, and that’s no different for our children with SEN,” Ms Scallon said. “We want them to be fully included in school life, we want to maximise their potential, and we want them to have the same opportunities as all other children and young people.

“Parents and carers have lost trust in our system, so the outcome for us is that they regain assurance and confidence in it. The only way they’re going to do that is when they see progress for their children.

Sinn Féin Councillor Paul Boggs said school staff have contacted him about the lack of available SEN training.

“Just under 11% of our children are educated in special schools, and they are hugely over capacity. They’re overflowing. So our system is not designed to meet the needs of the children presenting SEN.

“One in five children present SEN, and the number is increasing exponentially. We spend £500 million on SEN every year. So the numbers of children are rising, the complexity and multiplicity of need is presenting more and more, and we’re working in a reducing budgeting environment. It’s a very challenging environment to work in.”

Sinn Féin Councillor Paul Boggs said he had been contacted by school principals and staff, who highlighted a “severe lack” of face-to-face training for SEN.

Colr. Boggs said: “When I was training as a teacher in St Mary’s in Belfast, our trainers said they were at courses every week. Those opportunities aren’t there for staff anymore, so any review of SEN needs to ensure staff are trained properly.”

People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin said the deputation “underscores Stormont’s failure to deliver for children with special needs”.

“There’s a lot of anger and frustration out there, but the main thing is that children are losing out right now,” Colr. Harkin said.

“There’s a lack of funding for our schools, there’s not enough staff, and there needs to be a solution because you can’t implement these plans without proper funding.”

Andrew Balfour,

Local Democracy Reporter

Special education schools 'hugely over capacity' while SEN provision in mainstream not fit for purpose, Derry & Strabane Council told

“There’s a lack of funding for our schools, there’s not enough staff, and there needs to be a solution because you can’t implement these plans without proper funding.”