Funding for the role of special educational needs (SEN) coordinators in Northern Ireland has been slashed in half.
The news was announced in an email sent to schools from the Education Authority (EA) and funding for the role has now been slashed from £22 million to £11m in 2023-24.
Over 66,000 pupils in NI have some form of SEN with more than 24,000 with a statement of special educational needs.
The role of the SEN coordinator within schools is to assist students with learning however the way in which pupils are supported is changing with the potential for extra duties and responsibilities for SEN coordinators.
Only last week, DE announced that programmes such as the Pathway Fund, Sure Start, Bright Start and Toybox as well as cuts to the Extended School programme will now be protected.
In a statement to Ni4kids, a spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “The education budget has been reduced by 2.5% and faces estimated pressures of £382m. The funding allocated to the EA block grant for SEN has been maintained at the same level as last year to support services to children with SEN and will be monitored carefully over the year.
“The funding referred to was to support implementation of the SEND Act 2016 to provide additional support to Learning Support Coordinators in particular for the rollout of new Personal Learning plans for children with SEN to replace the current Individual Education Plans – this has proceeded more slowly than anticipated and, in the current stringent financial circumstances, funding has been reduced accordingly.
“Supporting every child with Special Educational Needs (SEN) to be happy, learning and succeeding remains a key priority for the Department of Education (DE). DE is working closely with the EA and other stakeholders on a comprehensive transformation agenda to improve outcomes for children with SEN through the delivery of high quality, child-centred and cost-effective services.”
A spokesperson for EA commented: “Whilst the £11m allocation from the Department of Education is significantly reduced in the context of the ongoing unprecedented financial pressures, the funding available is aimed at supporting schools and providing dedicated time for Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCOs) to support children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities, including through putting in place a Personal Learning Plan (PLP) for each pupil on a school’s SEND register.
“We remain very concerned that cuts will have an enduring and detrimental impact on our schools, critical services and ultimately on our children and young people, particularly the most vulnerable and those from disadvantaged areas.
“There has been a chronic underfunding of education over the last 10 years and we would repeat our call for sustained investment and continued transformation of services.”
