COVID-19 Lockdown and Restart: Impact on the Provision of Special Educational Needs

Relevant Assembly Questions

AQW 12493/17-22

Mr Gerry Carroll (PBPA - West Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education what resources his Department has provided to parents of children with special educational needs so they can educate at home.

12/01/2021 To be answered by 27/01/2021

AQW 12447/17-22

Mr Jim Allister (TUV - North Antrim) To ask the Minister of Health whether he will consider regular COVID-19 testing for children attending and staff working in special schools.

11/01/2021 To be answered by 26/01/2021

AQW 12387/17-22

Ms Claire Sugden (IND - East Londonderry) To ask the Minister of Education whether special educational needs units within primary and post-primary schools will reopen from 4 January 2021. [Priority Written]

31/12/2020 Answered on 12/01/2021

My Assembly Statement to the Ad Hoc Committee on 6 January 2021, https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/news/statement-education-minister-ad-hoc-committee-1, sets out clearly that all schools are to remain open to vulnerable children and young people, and children of key workers, for access to supervised learning.

The definition of Vulnerable Children and Young People includes, amongst others, all children with statements of Special Educational Needs.

Where there are Special Units attached to a school, these will not be open for normal teaching and learning, however, vulnerable or key worker children can still attend the school for supervised learning.

AQW 12382/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong (APNI - Strangford) To ask the Minister of Education to detail the number of children given a statement of Special Education Needs in each month for the past 5 years up to December 2020, broken down by constituency.

31/12/2020 Answered on 12/01/2021

The Education Authority (EA) is unable to provide robust information on the number of completed statements by month over the last five years. Data in the table below shows the number of statements completed each month for the period April 2019 to December 2020 by each of the five EA area offices. It is not possible to provide information broken down by constituency, as it is not collected in that format.

Final Statements Issued by Month by Office

AQW 12376/17-22

Mr Gerry Carroll (PBPA - West Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education to detail plans to introduce remote or recorded learning for pupils in Special Educational Needs environments.

31/12/2020 To be answered by 18/01/2021

AQO 1315/17-22

Mr Pat Catney (SDLP - Lagan Valley) To ask the Minister of Education, in light of the Minister of Finance's statement on 23 November 2020, what additional funding will be allocated to Special Educational Needs to deal with current pressures.

26/11/2020 Answered on 09/12/2020

It is my priority that examinations to award CCEA qualifications should go ahead as planned in 2021. The suite of adaptations which I announced on 9 October and 6 November are designed to take account not only of lost learning during the period from March to June 2020 but also to reflect the ongoing disruption that we are currently experiencing during the 2020/21 academic year.

However, I been keeping the situation under review, and my officials have been working closely with CCEA to develop a range of further mitigations and contingencies to respond to the fluid public health situation. This work is at an advanced stage and I hope to be in a position to provide more information very soon.

AQO 1312/17-22

Ms Clare Bailey (GPNI - South Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the Education Authority's delegation of budgets to special schools.

26/11/2020 Answered on 09/12/2020

Funding for special schools, which is allocated to the Education Authority's block grant, is determined by the Education Authority, and therefore any further delegation of budgets to these schools would be a matter for the Education Authority to consider in the first instance.

I am aware that the Education Authority is carrying out a review of the methodology underpinning the element of budgets that are currently delegated to special schools under Article 60, to ensure that this is operating as efficiently and effectively as possible.

I would urge special schools to continue to engage with the Education Authority on this, and I look forward to the outcome of the proposed 2021-22 pilot.

AQW 11868/17-22

Mr Daniel McCrossan (SDLP - West Tyrone) To ask the Minister of Education, as many experts are predicting a significant rise in infection rates in January, (i) what additional provision will be on standby to support Special Educational Needs and vulnerable children who often have complex needs if they cannot attend school for a period due to COVID-19 issues; (ii) what general lessons have been learned by his Department, the Education Authority and the Department of Health in respect of provision of health and educational support to vulnerable children when they cannot be at school and how has he applied those.

10/12/2020 To be answered by 29/12/2020

AQW 11867/17-22

Mr Daniel McCrossan (SDLP - West Tyrone) To ask the Minister of Education (i) whether he will bring forward a temporary continuity direction in order to ensure a minimum level of consistent access to Special Educational Needs support for all vulnerable children; and (ii) whether he will provide the associated resources required to cover these services for all future pandemic-related disruption to education.

10/12/2020 Answered on 04/01/2021

Provision for Special Educational Needs is a statutory requirement as set out in the Education (NI) Order 1996, as amended, and the 1998 SEN Code of Practice and 2005 supplement to the Code.

Although my Department has been successful in securing additional funding to tackle COVID-19 to date, there is no guarantee of additional funding. Notwithstanding this, my Department will continue to monitor funding requirements, in conjunction with the Education Authority, as the pandemic progresses, and bid for additional resources as required.

8 December 2020 SEN: Additional Resources

4. Mr Buckley asked the Minister of Education what additional resources have been allocated to minimise any disruption to children with special educational needs (SEN). (AQO 1305/17-22)

Mr Weir: I thank the Member for his question. To help support schools and the education sector in addressing many of the new pressures arising as a result of COVID-19, I announced significant additional funding, with the support of the Executive. To date, extra allocations of £6·9 million have been made to the Education Authority (EA), earmarked for special educational needs pressures arising from COVID-19 and Education Restart. I have asked the EA to continue to monitor funding requirements as the pandemic progresses, in order to inform potential departmental bids for additional resources.

Mr Buckley: I know that the Minister fully appreciates the devastating impact that COVID-19 has had on children with special educational needs. He will join with me in appreciating the tenacity of the children and the teachers and parents who look after those young people. Will the Minister provide an update on the transformation and improvement programme of special educational needs services?

Mr Weir: I am happy to do so. The Member mentioned teachers and parents. As we move towards Christmas, I want to place on record my thanks and appreciation — as I have done before, particularly for those in special educational needs but across the board — for parents, principals, teachers and all educational staff who have ensured that education continues.

Specifically on the question that the Member asked, the SEN governance group was established in September to maintain strategic oversight of the implementation of improvements being made in the EA and the Department. Considerable criticism has been levelled in the various reports that have been produced, and it is important that those are answered strategically.

The EA recently established a programme of improvements through its SEN strategic development programme, which provides a single coordinating governance structure for the SEN transformation agenda across Northern Ireland. The programme not only draws together ongoing multi-agency SEN development work but defines a single strategic plan to address the wide-ranging recommendations for changes that have resulted from various review reports over the past few years, including the 2020 Northern Ireland Audit Office SEN report, the SEN learner journey recommendations and the recent report by the Northern Ireland Children's Commissioner.

Mr Dickson: Minister, can you explain why the school restart fund does not apply to special schools? Is the failure to apply the fund to special schools an act of discrimination against special schools?

Mr Weir: No, it is not. Perhaps I am being a bit pedantic, but the Member may be referring to the Engage programme rather than restart. The restart fund is the wider package of measures that is being taken into account. As I indicated, £6·9 million of restart funding is directly for special educational needs. The Engage programme is £11·2 million of funding and is targeted at mainstream schools. As a more one-to-one intervention is required in special schools, I have instructed the EA to work directly with special schools to make provision of a similar nature to the Engage programme. Given the budgeting, the Engage programme has been delegated to schools. As the Member will also be aware, budgets for special educational needs are not devolved to the schools but are dealt with at EA level, which is why I have instructed the EA. There is a good argument for a lot more flexibility with the budgets. With the Engage programme, the flexibility on how that money is used is devolved to individual schools. Needs will be met directly in special schools, but the budget will come through the EA rather than the Engage programme.

Ms Mullan: Minister, the Education Committee heard evidence a number of weeks ago that suggested that the Department of Health had not fulfilled its obligations to cooperate with the Education Department on children with special education needs. Can the Minister assess the current levels of cooperation between the Education and Health Departments to support children with special education needs?

Mr Weir: To be fair, while the Committee Chair and I will often clash, he made reasonable suggestions to develop better stakeholder engagement and a reference group for vulnerable children. I am trying to take the suggestions forward with officials. As the Member suggested, that cannot happen purely in the Department of Education, and it requires cooperation.

Much of the Member's question would be better answered by the Health Minister. However, good work has been done and the situation is beginning to improve. There is no doubt that turning aspirations into real cooperation can be challenging at times and requires a continual effort. It can be brought forward as the consultation on the SEN regulations comes to an end, and the code of practice will be allied to the regulations. The code of practice will be a driver to improve what we can do for our young people with special educational needs.

Mr Allister: Extra resources in this area are very welcome. However, does the Minister agree that there needs to be better alignment between the release of resources and further improvement of the statementing process? The current targets are still disappointing. You can have all the resources that you like, but if the kids are not statemented, you are not marrying the two, and that is where the solution lies.

Mr Weir: I agree with the Member up to a point. As with all issues, resources are required to do certain things. Resources, in and of themselves, are not the complete picture. I do not have the figures to hand, but timescales for the statementing process have improved considerably. They started from a very poor base a year or two ago and have reduced considerably.

I see somebody shaking their head from a sedentary position, who clearly does not have the figures in front of them either. I revealed the figures at my previous Question Time.

Before the Chair gets a little bit paranoid, I will say that I am not accusing him. For once, he is an innocent man. The figures suggest very long-term waits. For example, a number of months ago, a number of children were waiting, say, more than a year and a half for a statement. That is no longer the case. There have been reductions in all those elements. It is about making that progress.

The Member is right about alignment, and the purpose of the SEN regulations is to try to get a much more joined-up approach. That is why they are out for consultation. It is important that we can move ahead with those as soon as possible and do as much as we can with the resources that are there.

AQW 11050/17-22

Mr Doug Beattie MC (UUP - Upper Bann) To ask the Minister of Education whether schools are set a quota of how many children can be referred for Special Educational Needs services in each educational year.

26/11/2020 Answered on 01/12/2020

This question has been interpreted as referrals to the Education Authority's (EA) Educational Psychology Service for assessment at Stage 3 of the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice.
Whilst there are no limits imposed on the number of children that may be referred to an Educational Psychologist for assessment at Stage 3, the EA operates a time allocation model for Educational Psychology Services where children are prioritised for assessment. There is a finite amount of Educational Psychology time available and this process helps ensure that it is apportioned in a transparent and equitable manner and that those in greatest need are prioritised.

If information is presented to the Educational Psychologist during consultation which indicates that a pupil has exceptional circumstances and the school has exhausted its time allocation, such referrals, while not guaranteed, will continue to be prioritised and an allocation of time is held centrally for this purpose.

The EA stresses that it applies the time allocation system in as flexible a manner as possible. Time available for case work within the whole service is collated annually, and this is used to determine the amount of time each school receives.

The time allocation model does not apply to statutory SEN assessments at Stage 4 of the Code of Practice.

AQW 10602/17-22

Mr Chris Lyttle (APNI - East Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education why special educational needs provision was not included in the criteria for Engage Programme funding.

19/11/2020 Answered on 01/12/2020

In recognition of the wider impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Engage programme provides both additional support across all primary and post primary schools, whilst also targeting schools with the greatest concentrations of children from disadvantaged backgrounds, measured by Free School Meal Entitlement (FSME).

I felt that it was right and necessary to weight the distribution of resources in this way as there is evidence to suggest that the period of school closures may have been more likely to impact on such pupils and had the potential to widen the achievement divide further between FSME pupils and their non-FSME peers.

In the context of a global pandemic, the funding methodology for Engage was designed in such a way as to ensure that it was simple and straightforward and could be allocated quickly and efficiently to schools, hence the use of FSME, a widely used indicator of socio-economic disadvantage, validated at pupil level, and which is readily available from annual school census data.

Schools have a wide range of autonomy in terms of the design, content and structure of Engage programme delivery in accordance with the particular needs of their pupils, using their professional judgement to identify those pupils who would benefit the most from additional teaching support following the lockdown period. This may include children with Special Educational Needs attending mainstream schools.

Officials are working with the Education Authority (EA) and representatives of the Special Schools Leadership Group (SSLG) to develop options for a similar model to the Engage Programme which, subject to securing funding, will help address the impact of school closures, in terms of lost learning, on children and young people with complex needs in Special Schools.

AQW 10524/17-22

Mr Chris Lyttle (APNI - East Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) why the Education Authority is operating a reduced service; and (ii) why key support services such as behaviour support and the autism advisory and intervention service are working from home when schools are operational and in need of this support.

18/11/2020 Answered on 30/11/2020

The Education Authority (EA) operates the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Pupil Support Services. The EA advise that these services have continued during the Covid-19 period and remain fully operational at this time.

A blended approach is being taken and support is being provided in a range of ways depending on the needs of children and young people and the individual circumstances. In keeping with Public Health Agency advice and guidance, some meetings with staff and some advisory supports are being provided remotely. Intervention continues to be provided face to face with pupils in schools, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Where there are unavoidable restrictions, remote support is being offered as part of the blended offer.

In addition to the on-going training, advisory and intervention work of services, an extensive suite of resources, contact details and signposts remain available on the EA Website.

This resource suite was developed during the school closure period to provide remote support to parents and schools. It continues to be developed and now contains training for both professionals and parents as services move their training programmes to online platforms.

Middletown Centre for Autism (MCA) resumed their Learning Support & Assessment Services from 1 September 2020, with all training moving online for the foreseeable future.

AQW 10302/17-22

Mr Daniel McCrossan (SDLP - West Tyrone) To ask the Minister of Education, even though children have had their full legal entitlement to special educational needs support restored in August 2020 when the Temporary Modification Notices were discontinued, to detail why (i) Education Authority direct peripatetic literacy support remains restricted; (ii) direct autism intervention is suspended; and (iii) there is no direct language and communication service.

16/11/2020 Answered on 30/11/2020

The services referred to (i) direct peripatetic literacy support (ii) direct autism intervention and (iii) direct language and communication service are provided under the banner of the Education Authority (EA) Special Educational Needs (SEN) Pupil Support Services. The EA advise that these services have continued during the Covid-19 period and remain fully operational at this time.

A blended approach is being taken and support is being provided in a range of ways depending on the needs of children and young people and the individual circumstances. In keeping with Public Health Agency advice and guidance, some meetings with staff and some advisory supports are being provided remotely. Intervention continues to be provided face to face with pupils in schools, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Where there are unavoidable restrictions, remote support is being offered as part of the blended offer.

In addition to the on-going training, advisory and intervention work of services, an extensive suite of resources, contact details and signposts remain available on the EA Website: https://www.eani.org.uk/services/pupil-support-services

This resource suite was developed during the school closure period to provide remote support to parents and schools. It continues to be developed and now contains training for both professionals and parents as services move their training programmes to online platforms.

Middletown Centre for Autism (MCA) resumed their Learning Support & Assessment Services from 1 September 2020, with all training moving online for the forseeable future.

24 November 2020 - COVID-19: Special Educational Needs Assessments

5. Mr Frew asked the Minister of Education, in the absence of face-to-face contact due to COVID-19 restrictions, to outline how educational psychologists provide assessments at all stages of the 'Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs'. (AQO 1175/17-22)

Mr Weir: I thank the Member for his question. During the period when face-to-face assessment was suspended, the Education Authority's educational psychology service continued to progress stage 3, 4 and 5 assessments, which had previously been consulted on and agreed with schools, and worked closely with EA colleagues in statutory operations to provide psychological advice when requested.

The service was able to gather information from questionnaires and other screening tools administered via telephone or video call; telephone consultations with school sources, such as the school's special educational needs coordinator; previous assessments; scores from standardised tests or other attainment information; and analysis of the child's developmental checklist, with a view that this information may be added to at a later stage, where necessary. In addition, the service provides advice and resources to staff, as well as training to support children and young people who are struggling at this time. The service continued to provide support during the period of school reopening, and face-to-face assessments resumed in September 2020.

Mr Frew: I thank the Minister for his answer. How will the Minister and the Department manage the backlog, which I am sure is mounting, and how will that be rectified before school placement time, given that some of these children may well have to attend special needs schools?

Mr Weir: The Member says that the backlog "is mounting"; saying that it "mounted" might be a more accurate tense to use. Yes, there is no doubt that some of the pressures from COVID meant that the extent of involvement changed. As I indicated, certain things could carry on, but the involvement was limited. Work continues on managing backlog cases, with the aim of reducing that number. The particular focus is on children who have been waiting longest, and that can include a range of actions to reconfigure processes and workflows across offices.

Reducing the backlog will be achieved through a combination of EA's continuing process improvement work and additional short-term staff resource. A capacity and demand analysis is being finalised to define the short-term resource that will be required and where that short-term resource is indicated. For this year, a couple of days ago, additional money was granted through the monitoring round. There is short-term resource, but there is also a longer-term delivery model to try to ensure sustained performance within the 26-week period.

As indicated, delays have been too long, but we are starting to see an improvement. For example, a year ago today, 107 children were waiting a year and a half for the statementing process. By the end of September this year, no child was waiting a year and a half. Indeed, compared with the 158 children who, a year ago, were waiting a little over a year, that number, within a 16-week period, has come down to 10, and there is an 83% improvement in the number of children waiting over 40 weeks. Action has been taken. There is no doubt that COVID created problems, but there are new processes in place that will help to reduce that further.

Ms Rogan: Minister, has there been an assessment of the impact of reducing statutory obligations in respect of special educational needs to what are best described as best endeavours, and what effect has that had on the children?

Mr Weir: The indications are that what we tried to provide has led to an improving service. There was not really any alternative. What could be provided during COVID was not necessarily going to be absolutely the same as it was under normal circumstances. That is the case across a wide range of services. Our aim and focus is to try to make sure that the backlog is cleared and that we reduce waiting times. We have seen an improvement in waiting times through a short-term intervention, and a longer-term plan has also been put in place. There is no doubt that the longer any child has to wait, the fewer the services that can be provided for them and the more difficult it is for them. That is what we are trying to combat, but we have also got to work, particularly during that peak period of COVID, against practical realities.

AQW 10098/17-22

Mr Paul Frew (DUP - North Antrim) To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) what happens to children who have not received their special needs assessment, as, without a statement, a place cannot be allocated at a special needs school; (ii) whether special needs schools with less pupils get sufficient funding; (iii) what effect this will have on mainstream schools that will have to provide a place for these children; and (iv) what additional funding will be provided to achieve one-to-one support.

11/11/2020 Answered on 23/11/2020

Under paragraph 4.11 of the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs (SEN), a child without a statement may be placed in a special school for the immediate commencement of the statutory assessment procedure. Where the assessment procedure leads the Education Authority (EA) to conclude that a statement is not warranted, the EA should take immediate steps, in consultation with the parents, to secure a more appropriate placement for the child.

Funding is allocated to special schools from within the EA's block grant allocation. In addition, a budget is delegated to the Board of Governors of special schools under Article 60 of the 1998 Education (Northern Ireland) Order to meet other costs, e.g. heating, lighting, cleaning, and it is the responsibility of the Board of Governors and the Principal of the school to manage this allocation on a day-to-day basis.

The Article 60 budget is determined on an annual basis and currently includes two elements: (i) non controllable costs and (ii) an amount per pupil. The Article 60 budget is uplifted in line with inflation on an annual basis and the same monetary value is awarded to each pupil enrolled; to this end, all special schools, regardless of size, are funded on the same basis.

Additional provision was set up by the EA in 2020/21 to meet provision for unplaced children with SEN. 17 Interim Specialist Resource Provisions were set up, based on negotiation with Principals, to meet the needs of children. It was the schools who decided whether they would set up the interim provision or not.

For each Interim Specialist Resource Provisions, staffing is as follows:

1 teacher and 1 classroom assistant assigned for 4 children;

1 teacher and 2 classroom assistants assigned for 8 children.

Funding for Interim Specialist Resource Provisions staffing was provided from the classroom assistant budget (as each unplaced child was entitled to either 25/35 hours) plus £3,000 for administration.

AQW 10008/17-22

Mr Chris Lyttle (APNI - East Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education whether he will commission an independent review of special educational needs provision.

10/11/2020 Answered on 13/11/2020

There have been a number of reports about Special Educational Needs (SEN) provision in recent years/months, for example, the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) 'Too Little, Too Late' Report which I received in March 2020, and more recently the issue was discussed at the Public Accounts Committee in October.

The EA has established a Strategic Development Programme that will encompass all operational changes required to SEN under one programme. Where possible and appropriate, this will include implementation of the recommendations from the 2020 Northern Ireland Audit Office (NIAO) SEN Impact report, the Departmental SEN Learner Journey project, NICCY report and the EA's own internal audit of practice.

In terms of governance arrangements the Department has established a SEN Governance Group which will maintain strategic oversight and co-ordination of the overall programme of improvements within the EA and Department. This Group is chaired by the Department's Permanent Secretary and membership includes the Chief Executive of the EA and the Chair of the EA Board.

The Department is currently consulting on a New SEN Framework which will introduce new duties for the EA, Schools and Health designed to reduce timescales and bureaucracy, which will ultimately lead to improvements and efficiencies in the SEN process.

Given this on-going work I have no plans to commission an independent review of special educational needs provision at this time.

AQW 9913/17-22

Mr Justin McNulty (SDLP - Newry and Armagh) To ask the Minister of Education whether he will commission a review of the support provided for children with special educational needs and, in particular, the delays between a child being diagnosed with a special need and the appropriate support packages being put in place.

09/11/2020 Answered on 19/11/2020

In order to address the acknowledged delays and issues within the current system, I established the Special Educational Needs (SEN) Governance Group to maintain strategic oversight of implementation of improvements being made within the Education Authority (EA).

To underpin this programme of improvements, the EA have recently commenced work on consolidating all of the areas for improvement, including their SEN Pupil Support Service, into an overarching work programme known as the Special Educational Needs and Disabilities Strategic Development Plan (SEND SDP).

The Department is currently consulting on a New SEN Framework which will introduce new duties for the EA, Schools and Health designed to reduce timescales and bureaucracy, which will ultimately lead to improvements and efficiencies in the SEN process.

Given this on-going work, I have no plans to commission a review of the support provided for children with SEN at this time

AQW 9703/17-22

Mr Robbie Butler (UUP - Lagan Valley) To ask the Minister of Education to provide (i) a breakdown of how the additional £12.8 million will be allocated; (ii) what formula has been used to allocate this funding; and (iii) how this funding will be distributed across the sector.

04/11/2020 Answered on 17/11/2020

The additional £12.8m will be allocated to the Education Authority (EA) as follows:

• £10.9m for Special Educational Needs;
• £1m for school maintenance; and
• £0.9m for schools' contingency funding.

The funding will be allocated to the EA to address existing in-year demand pressures, and as such a formula will not be used. This will be determined by the EA on the basis of existing in-year demand-pressures.

9 November 2020 - SEN Assessments: Waiting Time

3. Mrs Barton asked the Minister of Education how he will reduce the waiting time for the referral of primary-school pupils for special educational needs (SEN) assessments. (AQO 1040/17-22)

Mr Weir: The Education Authority has established a special educational needs and disability strategic development programme that will incorporate work to reduce delays in the SEN assessment process. The programme will also address recommendations from the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) report 'Too Little, Too Late', the Northern Ireland Audit Office reports on SEN and the EA's own internal audit of practice report.

The Department is consulting on a new SEN framework that will introduce new duties for the EA, schools and the Department of Health that are designed to reduce timescales and bureaucracy in the statutory assessment process. Actions are also ongoing to reduce delays in the statutory assessment process through the EA's improvement plan and the joint Health and Education notification, referral and statutory assessment (NRSA) action plan.

I have established a SEN governance group to provide strategic oversight and coordination of the overall programme of improvements in the EA and the Department. The group will provide an assurance that the Department and the EA are working collaboratively to improve processes and procedures to achieve better outcomes for children with SEN.

Mrs Barton: Thank you, Minister, for your answer. You will be aware that there are also long waiting lists for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) assessments. I understand that those are to be completed by the medical profession, but that has a knock-on effect when children are being assessed in school by the school psychologist. Will you commit to working with the Health Minister to reduce that assessment time, for the educational benefit of our young people?

Mr Weir: I will be happy to work with him. It is important as part of this. As with a lot of things, if there were simply a single intervention that would make things work more quickly, it would have been made some time ago. It is about trying to reduce bureaucracy.

With statements, while it is still far too long, there has been a reduction in the time taken for assessments, and that is starting to work through the system. Where there are direct individual assessments, COVID has created its own problems, but we are trying to work around those.

I am happy to give that commitment to work with the Health Minister and continue to work between the two Departments to make sure that we improve the lot of anybody with autism or, indeed, wider special educational needs.

Ms Dolan: Minister, you touched on this briefly in your previous answer. What is your assessment of the impact of the onset of COVID on referral waiting times for special educational needs assessments for primary-school pupils? What action are you taking to address it?

Mr Weir: To be fair, despite COVID, there has been some improvement. For example, between July and September, the percentage of statements completed in time rose by about 11%, so there are some positives. That is across the board. There have been improvements in Fermanagh and South Tyrone, for instance. Indeed, with regard to the unacceptable number of children who were waiting more than 40 weeks, which is 14 outside of that, there has been an 83% improvement. The number has gone down from 265 to 44. Undoubtedly, COVID-19 has had an impact on some of the assessments that were there earlier in the year. For all of us, including even those in the medical profession, there was a level of reluctance in trying to assess what was doable on the ground. None of us knew precisely what was coming down the track. We have seen some level of improvement, but we have to push that consistently.

To take another appalling statistic, exactly one year ago 107 children had been waiting over a year and a half for the completion of their statutory assessment: that figure is now down to zero.

Mr McCrossan: For some time now, there has been a long, lingering crisis in SEN. Many children and families struggle, and that has been worsened by the pandemic. Does the Minister feel that his Department is doing enough to support those families, particularly in the absence of schools, which have proven to be vital to those children and their development over recent years? Does he feel that it is satisfactory that SEN schools were not included in the Engage programme for vital funding, which has angered many parents?

Mr Weir: I have indicated that, with regard to SEN, I have directed the Education Authority to work directly with those schools and to provide individual interventions where it can provide support. There is an onus on the EA to do that.

As I indicated, some good work has been done. Improvements are being made. Can more be done? Yes. We are not at the endgame. As with anything in public life, there is always the danger of seeing it as an event when, in fact, it is part of a process. We need to ensure that that process continues. That is part of the reason why, from a strategic point of view, we put the SEN regulations out to consultation with the idea that, at the end of that process, new SEN regulations and a code of practice would be put in place. That will be helpful as well. As with everything, though, will there be instantaneous answers or improvements? No. They will not happen instantaneously, but we need to move in the right direction constantly. Ultimately, can more be done? Yes, and more will be done.

AQW 8914/17-22

Mr Chris Lyttle (APNI - East Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education whether it is correct that the Department of Education spends £4,500 per year per child with statement of special educational need in Northern Ireland compared with £29,000 in England.

16/10/2020 Answered on 23/10/2020

I would advise that the correct figure is £14,058 per year per child with a statement of special educational need in Northern Ireland compared with £29,000 in England.

It is important to note that these figures are based on 2017 data and that the structure and mechanism of the Northern Ireland funding system and how funding is allocated to schools in England is different.

Consequently, in the absence of directly comparable SEN expenditure data for England, certain proxies and assumptions were used in calculating these figures.

AQW 8896/17-22

Mr Justin McNulty (SDLP - Newry and Armagh) To ask the Minister of Education whether, in partnership with the Department of Health, he will provide a programme of additional and intensive support for children with Special Educational Needs who have lost out many hours of education due to the pandemic in areas around (i) speech and language therapy; (ii) physio therapy; (iii) literacy support (iv) general educational catch-up; and (v) emotional health and wellbeing.

16/10/2020 Answered on 23/10/2020

(i) Speech and language therapy and (ii) physiotherapy are a matter for the Minister of Health.

I have asked the Education Authority (EA) to develop options to help address the impact of school closures, in terms of lost learning, on children and young people with complex needs in Special Schools.
The Department is currently working with EA colleagues to consider a bespoke package of support for Special Schools.

AQW 8811/17-22

Mr Justin McNulty (SDLP - Newry and Armagh) To ask the Minister of Education what contingency planning and support will be provided to assist parents and families of children with Special Educational Needs, specifically those with complex needs during and after the current restrictions. [Priority Written]

15/10/2020 Answered on 20/10/2020

The Education Authority (EA) is maintaining support services during the current restrictions for vulnerable children and their families. These services include counselling, child protection, welfare, health & wellbeing and Special Educational Needs (SEN) specific supports.

Health services and local trusts are continuing to work with parents during the restrictions to provide therapeutic supports that best meets the child's needs, where it is safe and appropriate to do so, in line with the NI Executive's new Covid regulations and restrictions introduced on 16 October and public health guidance.

I have asked the EA to develop options for a similar model to the Engage Programme, subject to securing funding, to help address the impact of school closures, in terms of lost learning, on children and young people with complex needs in Special Schools.

The joint Health & Education oversight arrangements continue to monitor support for those families and put in place multi-disciplinary local level solutions where it is safe and appropriate to do so.

AQW 8083/17-22

Ms Paula Bradshaw (APNI - South Belfast) To ask the Minister of Education what guidance has been provided Special Educational Needs Schools in relation to the wearing of Personal Protection Equipment of teaching and support staff.

02/10/2020 Answered on 08/10/2020

The Department issued CORONAVIRUS (COVID-19) Guidance for Schools and Educational Settings in NI on 28 September.

This guidance sets out the circumstances in which PPE is required in section 2 paragraphs 20-22. Which state:

The PHA has published guidance to support safe working in educational settings in Northern Ireland. This advises that routine use of PPE within education settings is not required other than for certain tasks deemed to be of higher risk of transmission.

PPE is only needed in a very small number of cases. These are;

• working with children, young people and pupils whose care routinely already involves the use of PPE, due to their intimate care needs; and
• giving children medication.
• PPE in the following situations means:
• fluid-resistant surgical face masks;
• disposable gloves;
• disposable plastic aprons; and
• eye protection (for example a face visor or goggles).

Where PPE is recommended, this means that;

• a facemask should be worn if a distance of 2m cannot be maintained from someone with symptoms of COVID-19 (symptomatic children should not be in)
• if contact is necessary, gloves, an apron and a facemask should be worn; and
• if a risk assessment determines that there is a risk of fluids entering the eye (e.g. from coughing, spitting or vomiting), eye protection should also be worn.

AQW 7823/17-22

Mr Robbie Butler (UUP - Lagan Valley) To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of the Northern Ireland Audit Office's 2020 report on the provision of support for children with Special Educational Needs; and explain what is being done to ensure that the recommendations made in the 2017 Audit Office report will be implemented in full. [Priority Written]

29/09/2020 Answered on 30/09/2020

The Northern Ireland Audit Office's (NIAO) 2020 "Impact Review of Special Educational Needs" is to be considered by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday 15 October 2020.

I will work with the Department of Finance to ensure any issues raised by the PAC Report are addressed appropriately. The Department is working closely with the Education Authority on ensuring the recommendations made in the 2017 Audit Office Report are implemented in full.

AQW 7807/17-22

Mr Daniel McCrossan (SDLP - West Tyrone) To ask the Minister of Education to detail (i) the number of school pupils identified as dyslexic; and (ii) the support mechanisms available to these pupils.

29/09/2020 Answered on 07/10/2020

(i) A total of 9,877 (source: annual School Census 2019/20) pupils have a Special Educational Need of Dyslexia in nursery schools, pre-schools, primary, post primary, special and education other than at school (EOTAS) settings.
(ii) The overarching responsibility for meeting the literacy needs of pupils rests with the school in which they are enrolled. The Education Authority (EA) Literacy Service provides a broad range of support through a continuum of provision via a programme of offer encompassing tiered provision:

Universal support is designed to build the capacity of schools to meet the needs of pupils and parents with increasing confidence and skill, through training and capacity building which is available to all schools. Training can build the knowledge, resilience and skills of staff and, where appropriate, parents in specific areas of need. This programme was available to all schools as centre-based training and is currently being developed into an online format due to COVID-19.

The EA Literacy Service website (https://www.eani.org.uk/services/pupil-supportservices/literacy-service) contains a range of guidance on resources, activities and ideas designed for parents to support a pupil experiencing a literacy difficulty.

Targeted support is designed for school staff, parents and pupils with an assessed level of need following an EA Educational Psychology assessment. It consists of the provision of targeted advice and guidance based on the assessed needs of the pupil. An important element of this includes the effective use of assistive technology to support the pupil.

EA Literacy Service - Intensive support builds on the foundations laid in schools through both capacity building and targeted support programmes where provided. Without these foundations, the outcomes of any intensive support will be compromised. A programme of Intensive support will focus on the identified and assessed needs of an individual pupil.

The use of ICT and assistive technology can be a significant enabler. All schools have access to assistive technology software to assist in supporting literacy difficulties through C2K. This includes text-to-speech and speech-to-text software and software to support reading, writing and spelling. The Literacy Service Continuing Professional Development Programme includes training for schools in the use of important elements of this software.

AQW 7780/17-22

Mr Paul Givan (DUP - Lagan Valley) To ask the Minister of Education to detail how the £0.2 million funding allocated for Special Education will be utilised.

29/09/2020 Answered on 12/10/2020

The additional £0.2m Covid-19 funding for Special Educational Needs (SEN) Support will be directed towards the following services: Autism Advisory and Intervention; Language and Communication; SEN Inclusion; and Literacy and Behaviour Support. This funding aims to address increased caseloads as a result of Covid-19, facilitating more young people accessing these services in a timely manner.

AQW 6533/17-22

Ms Cara Hunter (SDLP - East Londonderry) To ask the Minister of Education for his assessment of funding to post-primary schools for the provision of special educational needs.

08/09/2020 Answered on 17/09/2020

I recognise the need to further supplement schools' funds (i.e. Nursery, Primary, Post-Primary and Special schools) to aid the effective implementation of the new SEN Framework; specifically, to ensure schools have a dedicated Learning Support Co-ordinator (the new name for a Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator) and for work to begin on ensuring each pupil on the SEN Register in a school has a Personal Learning Plan (PLP).

I will be making an announcement shortly about this.

AQW 6093/17-22

Ms Martina Anderson (SF - Foyle) To ask the Minister of Education, given that blended learning is often unsuitable for children with disabilities, what support he intends to introduce for parents of children with disability to enable such parents to cope until schools are operating regularly.

18/08/2020 Answered on 03/09/2020

Following the Executive's decision on 6 August, I announced that "all children were to return to school full-time from week commencing 31 August."

The Department, in partnership with the Education Authority (EA), has worked closely with Special Schools through their Strategic Leadership Group to address issues and produce supplementary guidance (24 August 2020) to support Special Schools' re-opening plans. I agreed with the Group's request for a short 2 week period of flexibility in bringing pupils back reflecting their particular circumstances. Special schools will be expected to operate regularly in line with Departmental guidance from 7 September 2020.

In exceptional circumstances, schools will make appropriate provision in line with the individually assessed needs of the child which may include online engagement, practical sensory resources and other activities.

The Education Authority will continue to provide a range of services to support parents, schools, children and young people in relation to special educational needs and disability and an extensive suite of resources is available on the EA Website:

• Pupil Support Services
• Information for Parents and Families

AQW 4270/17-22

Mrs Pam Cameron (DUP - South Antrim) To ask the Minister of Education what guidance has been given to schools with reference to homeschooling of those with a statement of special educational needs during COVID-19.

26/05/2020 Answered on 02/06/2020

Each individual child with a statement of special educational needs (SEN) has their own needs, so approaches need to be tailored to the individual pupil by their teacher working in conjunction with the school's SEN Co-ordinator (SENCo)

The Continuity of Learning Project (COLP), initiated by the Department and co-ordinated by the Education Authority (EA), provides an opportunity for practitioners, school leaders and education support organisations to work together, to produce and disseminate high quality support and guidance for teachers, parents and learners, in order to provide for the emotional health, resilience and wellbeing of learners and to facilitate progression in learning, through these challenging times.

A range of methods to share and signpost resources and guidance is available for teachers and school leaders, such as C2K which includes information produced by ETI to support pupils with SEN.

Further information about how and where to access this support will be provided in the near future. Resources to support parents are also available through specially developed pages on the EA website at: https://www.eani.org.uk/supporting-learning.