Special schools: Mother says pupils left in limbo over places

Parents of children seeking a special school place are left in a state of limbo of increasing anxiety and helplessness, a mother has said.

Madison Brown's son, who has special educational needs (SEN) still does not have a school place for September.

The Education Authority (EA) recently warned of a "significant shortfall" in special school places this year.

It acknowledged it is an exceptionally anxious time for those awaiting news on school placements.

The authority also said 920 more children with SEN needed school places in September 2023 compared to 2022 and that supporting children with SEN was a key priority.

The pressure on places comes as a major review into support for children with SEN, commissioned by the Department for Education (DE), is set to be published.

Madison Brown's son, six-year-old Fintan, attends Greenwood House Assessment Centre in east Belfast.

She told BBC News NI he had been very happy there.

"Fintan's progress has been exceptional as the specialist provision allowed him to flourish in a class of fewer than 10 students supported by staff with special education expertise and supported by incredible on-site speech and occupational therapists," Ms Brown added.

But as Greenwood is only for pupils up to the end of Primary Two, Fintan now has to find a different special school to transfer to.

Ms Brown said she had started the search for a new school for Fintan last year.

"We did as much research as we could and worked closely with the Education Authority's educational psychologist to consider the best place to suit Fintan's needs," she said.

"Her thorough and robust reporting - she even spent time with Fintan at his childminders as well as school - led her to conclude that continued special school provision would be required.

"We were keen to find a school that Fintan could remain at until the age of 18 so that he wouldn't ever have to face the upheaval of a transition which is difficult enough for a neurotypical child, but even more challenging for a neurodiverse child.

"Having heard reports in early May that the Education Authority was facing a short fall in some 800 special school places, I was filled with trepidation."

Parents of pupils seeking a place in mainstream primaries and post-primaries have already been informed of what school their child will go to in September.

But many parents of children with SEN, like Ms Brown, are still waiting to have their child's place confirmed.

"The lack of consistency in communication for parents with SEN children is staggering in comparison to their mainstream peers," Ms Brown said.

"Instead, we have to suffer the trickling in of information on school places from other parents at the school gates.

"And then the trickle became a tsunami of other parents at Greenwood House who haven't been given a special school place.

"The school that we have applied to haven't even been able to finish processing the overwhelming number of applications that they have received.

"We wait in a limbo state of increasing anxiety and helplessness.

"It didn't matter that we did all the research and submitted all forms as early as possible.

"It doesn't matter that Fintan has excelled in a special school and can now speak to us.

"Instead, we just have to wait and pray we can send Fintan somewhere."

In response, an EA spokesperson said that "supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) is a key priority."

"There has been an increase in the number of children with SEND and in their complexity of needs in recent years," they added.

"This has driven a growth in demand for school places in specialist provision, special schools and mainstream, and in particular in pre-school and Primary One.

"The EA is continuing to work closely with the Department of Education, sectoral partners, schools, and health authorities, to secure additional appropriate provision."

The EA also said a multidisciplinary team had been set up to help establish new specialist classes in primary schools for children with SEN.

Demand for places in special schools has risen substantially in recent years.

In the 2022-23, there were almost 7,000 pupils in Northern Ireland's 39 special schools and a further 3,200 were in specialist provision in mainstream schools.

Those are special classes or units which provide extra support to pupils with additional needs in primaries and post-primaries.

The EA recently sent a letter to principals and governors, asking more mainstream primaries to open units for pupils with severe learning difficulties (SLD).