(UK) NI: SPED facing "radical overhaul" to meet "increasing levels of need"
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Northern Ireland education bosses are planning a radical overhaul of how children with special educational needs are taught, it has been announced.
One aspect of the plan that may spark some controversy is a move away from “over reliance on one-to-one classroom assistant support for all children”.
The new system will also involve “changes to the process for new statements of special educational need”.
The Northern Ireland Education Authority insists that “every child who needs one-to-one support will continue to receive it”. However, it is envisaged that “small group learning sessions” will be increasingly used instead of one-to-one assistants.
It is understood that discussions about the planned changes have touched on the fact increasing numbers of children being diagnosed with SEN will lead to more and more classroom assistants in classrooms. That model is no longer practical or affordable, sources familiar with the plan say.
EA sources insist the plans are not about cost cutting and that there will be no redundancies of classroom assistants.
In a statement issued on Tuesday afternoon, the EA said that “reforming classroom support in NI will benefit children, staff and schools”.
The EA is today launching an eight-week public consultation on “enhancing the current special educational needs classroom support model”.
The statement said that the “aim of the reforms is to improve outcomes for children and young people”.
It added: “This can be achieved by changing current rigid approaches that often do not work for children. Schools will have more flexibility on how to best provide support.”
Tomas Adell, EA’s Chief Transformation Officer, said: “The evidence, both in Northern Ireland, and from best practice elsewhere is clear: each day that we continue to operate the current support model for our children and young people with SEN, we accept less than optimal provision for their needs. To improve outcomes, it is essential to that we transform and update the current model of support.
“Reform can also bring benefits for classroom assistants, teachers and school communities as a whole.”
According to the EA, “schools will have greater freedom to tailor classroom support to the individual needs of children” and will be able to “move away from the current ‘one size fits all’ model with its over reliance on one-to-one classroom assistant support for all children”.
They add: “Every child who needs one-to-one support will continue to receive it. Any changes will be introduced sensitively on an individual basis, through the established annual review process for each child’s provision.
“The current classroom support model cannot properly deliver for children or meet increasing levels of need. Faced with this reality, many schools in NI have begun to develop alternative approaches to classroom support. The reforms set out in the public consultation will help formalise and encourage this approach.
“Alternatives to a blanket one-to-one support model will include small group learning sessions, use of different teaching methods, and enhanced access to educational and health specialists.”
The EA says the planned reforms “will be implemented gradually over a number of years and will be shaped throughout this process by input from children, parents, carers, teachers, classroom assistants and school leaders as well as emerging evidence of best practice”. . . .
“The consultation proposes that implementation of the new classroom support model will start from September 2026. EA will begin by working with around 150 mainstream schools who are already adopting alternative models of support to implement the model. EA will also work with the 40 Special Schools in NI.
“In 2027-2028, rollout will cover schools across two Health and Social Care Trust areas. It will extend to the remaining three Trust areas in 2028-29, meaning the Enhanced Support Model will then be standard practice across NI.”
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