Families in Northern Ireland struggling to find a special school place for their children face “devastating consequences”.
That’s the view of the Alliance Party’s education spokesperson Kate Nicholl.
Alliance Party education spokesperson Kate Nicholl said special needs children in Northern Ireland who have not yet been given a school place are being failed
The member of Northern Ireland’s legislative assembly (MLA) for South Belfast says desperate parents regularly contact her because they “don’t know where to turn”.
No special school place for 120 children
Up to 120 schoolchildren with special needs still do not have a school place for the start of the new academic year in September.
Nicholl says families will be “extremely concerned” that the province’s Education Authority has not been able to guarantee that all children will have a school place before the start of September.
She added: “We are failing these young people and depriving them of the education every child should have by right.”
Plans for 450 new places
Many families faced the same anxious wait last summer to see if a school place could be found for their child.
Last year, the province’s Department of Education approved plans for 450 new special school places to boost capacity.
Cara Hunter, education spokesperson for The Social Democratic and Labour Party, said the number of children with statements of special needs has risen by 50 per cent since 2018.
Hunter, MLA for East Derry, said there has been no similar increase in funding to meet the additional demand.
She added: “The existing situation of children and parents being let down year after year cannot be allowed to continue.”
Autism Eye has contacted the Education Authority for a response.
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Published: 2 August 2024
