Please sign this petition to raise the profile that some* children with Special Educational Needs still don’t have a school place for starting back next week. 

*exact figure not known today 17/8/20

In addition no fixed time-line was ever provided to families as to when they will know IF their child will have a school place for school starting bank or not. This is not acceptable, every child has a right to an education in the most appropriate setting to meet their needs. Every child deserves to be educated and supported to become the best that they can and to reach their full potential.

The Education Authority needs to overhaul their area planning processes as the most vulnerable children in our society are being let down. Families are distressed, and the vital transition process needed for these children if and when they do get a school place, will simply just not happen.

We demand:

• Immediate action to remedy this situation and each child placed in the most appropriate school closest to their home
• For special schools to be adequately resourced 
• New schools to be built to meet demand
• Complete overhaul of the Education Authority's area planning processes
• Children with Special Educational Needs are not and never will be an afterthought for their educational provision.

We demand better for our children!

Harry's story

We are still waiting to know where Harry will be going to school in the new 20/21 academic year. Harry finished his last school in June and is now left waiting.....

With only days to go - how can I transition my son adequately for his new school?

Harry and these other children have a Statement of their Special Educational Needs which is a document that describes their needs/requirements and is required by law.**

Most of these children will already have been in the education system for a number of years, they will have been assessed by a variety of specialists such as Speech and Language, Occupational and Physio Therapists, Educational Psychologists, Teachers etc.

There shouldn't be any surprise that these children will need a school place, when their time has finished at their current placement.

Harry finished 5 years at Oakwood School and Assessment Centre so has been in the system for about 7 years in total. A well communicated transition from one school to another is vital for positive well-being not just for the child, but for all those who support the family unit. This will not be happening for Harry, we have no idea where he will be placed. Harry is non verbal and our concern is, if he gets a place, he will likely be put on an Education Authority school bus with people he has never met, be taken to a school he has never visited in a part of the city he doesn't recognise to spend the day with complete strangers in completely unfamiliar surroundings - how on earth is this even acceptable?

This isn't a new story, this hasn't happened because of Covid-19, this has been going on for years. The Education Authority have completely let the most vulnerable children and their families down. This is due to their lack of area planning for places and capacity of their special schools. This appears to be blamed as a legacy issue. Sadly there has possibly been a decade of summer holidays ruined with worry and stress caused by the anxiety of not knowing if your child will have a school to go to or not in September. How will that also impact on the rest of the family? And lets not forget these children deserve to know where they are going in good time, there are serious issues for these children when they are having to transition to something new. Good planning is imperative for everyone involved.

It is without any doubt that the special schools are full beyond capacity and they desperately need well resourced provision and for more schools to be built. The increase in numbers of children with SEN is of no surprise with comments being made by professionals in the sector that this has been well known, for about a decade, so why is it still happening?

Together we can demand immediate change that at the start of this new decade, the Education Authority will provide equitable educational provision in good time for every child in Northern Ireland.

Thank you for your support.

Harry

* Exact numbers not yet known but last week it was in the region of 30. 

** A statement that is not properly detailed does not comply with the law. Under Article 16(3) of the Education (NI) Order 1996, the Education Authority has a statutory duty to “specify the special educational provision to be made” to meet the child’s educational needs.