An education authority is breaking the law with statements of special educational needs (SEN) that fail to give firm commitments to children’s services.
That’s the view of Belfast children’s rights lawyer Nicholas Quinn.
Lawyer Nicholas Quinn says Northern Ireland’s Education Authority is breaking the law with vague statements of special needs
Quinn accuses the Northern Ireland Education Authority (NIEA) of failing to get expert advice from therapists on the levels of extra help needed by children with special needs.
Statements use ‘vague language’
Instead, the lawyer said the NIEA will frame statements with vague language that avoids definite commitments.
So rather than specify the number of hours of speech therapy a child needs, statements will typically use phrases such as the child requires “ongoing input from a speech therapist”.
Quinn said when therapists use vague language about the levels of support children need, the NIEA makes no attempt to get a clearer picture.
Need for detail in statements
The lawyer said the vague statements break the law because they should detail what type of therapy a child needs and for how many hours.
“It’s left so vague that the parents don’t know what type of therapies they’ll get, be it OT (occupational therapy) or speech therapy, and when they’ll get it, or if they’ll get it,” said Quinn.
The lawyer said it’s “commonplace” to find statements that avoid specific commitments on such things as therapy hours.
Left unchanged unless challenged
The statements are on the wrong side of the law. However, unless a parent or a lawyer challenges them in a tribunal they are left unchanged, said Quinn.
“It’s completely overlooked,” he added.
A spokesperson for the NIEA said the SEN code of practice advises that therapies should be specified and quantified “unless flexibility should be retained to meet a child’s changing needs”.
Related:
- 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: 6 November 2020
