A legal expert has slammed the educational provision for special needs children in Northern Ireland.
Rachel Hogan, a special educational needs and disability expert at the Children’s Law Centre in Belfast, said the provision was “potentially educational negligence”.
Lawyer Rachel Hogan says failure to properly support special needs children may be “educational negligence”
Hogan’s criticism focuses on the performance of Northern Ireland’s Education Authority (EA).
Damning report
She spoke out after the province’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) published a damning report of the EA. It concluded there are elements of “dysfunctionality” within the organisation.
The report investigated heavy criticism of the EA for missing targets on providing statements for children with special needs.
Statements detail a child’s needs and highlight the input needed, such as speech-and-language and occupational therapy.
Hogan said the failing may add up to educational negligence “due to the harm that it causes”.
‘Failed for many years’
The PAC report said it was “deeply concerned and disappointed that children and their families had been failed for many years and the impact this has had”.
Scrutiny of the EA by Northern Ireland’s Department of Education and the EA board has shown “no evidence” of “sufficient challenge” to “continued poor performance”.
The findings point to how the years of delay over issuing statements damage the prospect of early intervention, which is of “crucial importance” for special needs children.
On a positive note, the PAC said it was “pleased” that children with SEN were performing better in exams.
Aim of ‘improving outcomes’
Peter Weir is Northern Ireland’s education minister. He said his department is consulting on a new “policy framework” with the “aim of improving outcomes”.
EA chief executive Sara Long said the organisation was “committed to making the improvements needed”.
Related:
- Education authority ‘breaks law’
- Families left waiting for SEN statement
- Northern Ireland funding ‘not enough’
- Commissioner slams support in N Ireland
- N Ireland schools ‘almost in crisis’
- Call for autism schools in N Ireland
- Radical N Ireland school plans blasted
- N Ireland pay hikes at top despite cuts
- Parents take action over N Ireland cuts
- Cuts hit ‘crucial help’ in N Ireland
- Parents defy dire services in N Ireland
- Huge increase in diagnosis in N Ireland
Published: 15 March 2021
