The National Association of Headteachers (NAHT) are calling for collective action, across the Education Authority (EA), all education stakeholders, parents, governing bodies, unions and policymakers, to demand proper resourcing for schools.
That is the message contained in an open letter released today (15 September) by NAHT.
The letter addressed to Richard Pengelly (CEO Education Authority), Dale Hanna (Director of School Placements at EA), Mervyn Storey (Chairperson of the Board at EA), Minister of Education, Paul Givan and Ronnie Armour (Permanent Secretary, Department of Education) addresses the ongoing challenges around SEN provision and demands “immediate, constructive action to support our most vulnerable children”.
Meanwhile the Education Authority has welcomed NAHT’s proposals in particular that more must be done collectively to bring an end to the annual cycle of “perpetual crisis” over places for children with SEN.
NAHT’s letter penned by union leader, Dr Michael Gault said suggestions from the Education Authority and minister Givan last month that some schools had been unwilling to accommodate pupils with SEN was ‘profoundly insulting’ to dedicated education professionals.
In a communication, the Education Authority announced 1,374 additional SEN places for 2025-26 school year but said all schools in Northern Ireland needed to be involved in offering specialist provision.
That followed a letter to school principals in May threatening to compel them to create provision if they did not agree to do so by the end of that week.
The open letter pushes back against this implication, adding: “Every single principal and teacher works effectively with SEN children on a daily basis, consistently demonstrating unwavering commitment and professional excellence.
“To suggest otherwise fundamentally misrepresents the reality of Northern Ireland’s education landscape and the extraordinary dedication of our workforce.”
Dr Gault states that the letter from EA received in May noted that pupils with SEN ‘must not be portrayed or perceived as burdens’, something that Dr Gault feels is the inevitable implication of the language of crisis.
Dr Gault continued that the letter highlights underfunding as a barrier to schools’ capacity to support children. He said: “Even indirectly attributing blame for current SEN provision challenges to school leaders is not only unwarranted, it actively misdirects attention from the true source of this crisis: sustained, systemic underfunding”.
The Independent Review of Education estimates Northern Ireland needs an additional £291m to close the school funding gap with England and Wales – of which £136m is directly linked to supporting pupils with statements of special educational needs.
While pupil numbers have increased by less than 4% since 2017/18, there has been a huge 51% rise in the number of children with SEN statements – without any corresponding increase in resources.
Explaining the decision to issue the letter and make this demand, Dr Gault said: “The Education Authority’s last-minute scramble for places this year should have been entirely foreseeable.
“The answer is not to talk down school leaders and resort to trying to strong-arm schools which are ill-equipped to offer specialist provision units at extremely short notice and with limited support.
“Doing so is disrespectful to dedicated professionals, and not in the best interests of schools, pupils or parents. What we need is an earlier collaborative effort to identify the level of need, and ensure all schools have the funding, resources and spaces needed to play a part in helping to meet it.”
The Education Authority plans to meet with NAHT representatives and the wider NITC trade unions at the earliest opportunity to discuss additional mechanisms for engagement with school leaders.
