Armagh City, Banbridge & Craigavon (ABC) Borough Council is to send a letter to the Education Authority (EA) to urge the statutory body to speedily issue statements to parents of children with special educational needs still waiting for those.
The matter was raised by way of a Notice of Motion under any other business by Cllr Robbie Alexander at last Monday night’s (July 22) monthly meeting of the local authority.
The Alliance representative for Craigavon DEA commented: “Recently I’ve been contacted on the issue of placement for children with special educational needs (SEN), or those who are still waiting on statements from the Education Authority.
“These issues can be very stressful, they can be complex, and they leave parents feeling isolated and rather helpless.
“There are quite a lot of parents sitting around this chamber this evening. Many of us know how stressful a new school year can be with shoes, bags, pencil cases, school uniforms and all these sorts of things.
“So the added pressure of waiting for a statement from EA is just the sort of unwanted pressure that they really don’t need. No one said it was ever going to be easy, but it maybe should be a little bit easier.
“And you know, it’s an issue as well that I’m sure many around this chamber have also been dealing with.
“I’m sure many elected reps have been contacted on these very same issues. I have already spoken to quite a few who have been dealing with the same issues that I’ve been dealing with. You know the same families.
“A lot of these things have come up while we’re sort of waiting on that new school year coming around. So I’m calling on this council to urgently write to the Department of Education and its minister, to address the following queries that I have.
“I would like an update on the number of children with special educational needs still awaiting a placement for September 2024 in our council area.
“I would like to know how many new specialist provision places in mainstream schools have been established and are still required for September 2024 in our council area.
“What actions the Department of Education are taking in order to tackle the shortage of educational psychologists within the Education Authority.
“I would like an update on the recruitment of SEN link officers within the Education Authority, an update on work being carried out.
“And finally, an update on the plans to move towards a local, integrated teams model for pupil support services by September 2024.
“I would stress that these issues need urgent attention. But I would also appeal to the minister that we need to see transformation in this area.
“We need the process to work faster for families dealing with the stress of waiting. We are waiting for statements.
“We need more placements for children that truly reflect the needs of the child, and we need better support across the board for children, for parents and for school and EA staff who are in the front lines, doing their best with what they have.
“It’s my belief that the only way to tackle these issues properly in the long term is with radical, transformative change.
“Continuing to throw money at this problem has not worked in the past, and it is not going to work in the future. All future investment must be made strategically in order to tackle these issues effectively.”
Cllr Liam Mackle (Sinn Féin, Lurgan DEA) explained he had personal experience of this issue through his work: “Just to support Cllr Alexander’s proposal. I work in the Children’s Law Centre – it’s my day job – and we deal with about 1,500 special educational needs issues every year.
“I personally have a caseload of about 30 children. We have no places at the minute. The system has been creaking for about five or six years. It’s now completely broken.
“So we need answers. We need answers quick, and we need things to happen to change the system.”
Cllr Julie Flaherty (UUP, Portadown DEA) felt very strongly on this issue too: “This is something I have been working on probably the entirety of my council career – one of the reasons why I got into this in the first place, quite frankly, and I’ll give you a heads-up.
“EA, there’s just not enough places. And I am sick and tired of children being educated in school corridors and converted cloakrooms. So let’s find the money for these children, end of story.
“We know that there’s at least 1,000 children that were unplaced. [Some] are being placed in unsuitable places, and that is not on, so yes, I’d be interested to see the answers to those questions, and thanks for raising them in the chamber tonight, Cllr Alexander.”
ABC Lord Mayor, Cllr Sarah Duffy brought the debate to a close, stating: “Are we all agreed that a letter is sent? I don’t think anybody would disagree with that.”
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