All schools told to set up SEN classes to reduce shortfall

The Education Minister Paul Givan has told all schools to set up classes for children with special educational needs (SEN).

In a letter to all school leaders, Givan said he now required "all mainstream schools" to work with the Education Authority (EA) to put the provision in place.

According to one teacher, the minister's move is "a really, really positive step in the right direction".

The EA said: "Making specialist provision a standard feature of mainstream schools is essential".

The authority also said there was a projected shortfall of around 400 school places for children with SEN for the 2026/27 school year.

While many children with SEN go to special schools, an increasing number attend mainstream schools.

In recent years, Specialist Provision in Mainstream Schools - or SPiMS - classes have been used to try to ensure school places for children with SEN.

That is partly due to a shortage of places in special schools.

Concerns have previously been raised, though, by Northern Ireland's independent autism reviewer that some children are given school places which are unsuitable.

But only around a quarter of mainstream schools have specialist classes for children with SEN at present and the minister has said that has to change.

Leah McGregor's five-year-old son Theodore is autistic and has a place in a SPiMS class.

However, he does not attend the school because it does not meet his needs. He has not yet received a place in a special school.

McGregor said his current class has "too much going on".

"The classroom is very small with 12 children and six adults, so it's just not enough space for him to be regulated and then they don't have equipment that special schools have," she said.

"The unit is great for children whose needs are lesser than my son's, so if your child's needs are sort of somewhere in the middle a unit is brilliant but if your child is more severe and they need special school then it's not ideal," McGregor added.

"This is the second year in a row now we're waiting on a special school."

McGregor said the news from Givan is "really good for children whose needs it will meet".

However, she added: "I do think that the education minister is thinking 'right this is going to solve the problem', but it's not going to solve the problem because it's going to be like a quick fix for a bigger problem.

"There's not enough special school provision."

Theodore is not coping well without a suitable school setting, according to McGregor.

"He's really regressed."

She said it is "great" that the Department of Education will be providing more SEN classes, but said that "we really desperately more so need special schools to be expanding and more newer special schools to be opening".

"I don't think the units are going to solve the bigger problem."

St John the Baptist College, in Portadown, introduced a specialist provision in September.

The principal Noella Murray told Evening Extra it has been "a real success" and "the children are making significant progress".

Murray doesn't believe that "forcing anyone is the right approach" but thinks that all schools should "consider" doing the same as her school.

"Every school is different and they are best placed to access their own readiness for opening a provision," she said.

"Given the dearth of places and the need that exists, I would encourage all schools," she added.

In his letter to schools, Givan said the "need for all types of SEN provision has grown exponentially in recent years and is projected to continue to rise".

"All schools have a role to play in meeting the needs of this changing demographic," he wrote.

He said about a quarter of mainstream schools had created classes for pupils with SEN.

"To meet future demand and ensure that children do not have to travel unacceptably long distances to access appropriate placements, I am now requiring all mainstream schools which the EA considers suitable to facilitate specialist provision to engage constructively with them to put it in place," he said.

Givan said "a more direct approach is now considered necessary" and there would be support for schools to set up the classes.

"Meeting the needs of children and young people with SEN is one of the most pressing challenges facing educational systems across many countries," he said.

"I am determined that we in Northern Ireland will rise to the challenge collectively."

In a statement, the EA said "this can ultimately bring an end to the annual cycle of pressure and uncertainty for pupils and families".

"Most importantly, it can help ensure that all our children and young people can access appropriate education in their own communities."

Marion McMahon is the lead teacher for specialist provision classes in St Paul's High School in Bessbrook, County Armagh.

The school has had support units for pupils with SEN since the 1970s and now has six specialist classes, including one for pupils with learning needs and another for social and communication needs.

According to McMahon, those classes include autistic pupils and others with Down's Syndrome or developmental delay.

"Specialist provisions cater for a very wide range of learners," she told BBC News NI.

She said the pupils were fully part of the school community, attending assemblies and after-school clubs and mixing with their peers.

"One of my young learners was out today with the year 10 soccer team participating in a semi-final," she said.

"We had another young learner out this week who's part of the steel drums group, getting ready to head off to a St Patrick's Day parade.

"We look at what their strengths are and we look at where can we make these young people succeed within their own capacity.

"Even though these children are accommodated within our specialist provision, they don't sit there all day every day - they integrate with all their peers."

She welcomed the minister's requirement for all schools to run similar classes for SEN pupils.

"This is a really, really positive step in the right direction," she said.

"SPiMS as an element of inclusive education will only ever work if there's genuine buy in from most schools."

"I'm not saying that every single school needs to have a SPiM, but it needs to be that most schools get on board with this."

McMahon also said schools with experience, like St Paul's, could support or "buddy" with schools in their area.

"We could actually provide that buddy system for some of our post-primary counterparts," she said.

"One of the things that would help would be a buddy system that supports new SPiMs in post-primary with existing SPiMS like ourselves in St Paul's."