(UK) NI: SPED funding to be cut in midst of "education cash crisis plan"
- The end of childhood
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Feb 4, 2026, Newsletter: School closures, special needs classroom assistant cuts, and heavy reductions to home transport on cards in education cash crisis plan
Schools will be axed, classroom assistant numbers cut and home transport heavily reduced in an education overhaul announced today, as the sector struggles with a crippling cash crisis.
Education Minister Paul Givan has unveiled a five-year plan for a massive overhaul, including shutting or merging schools across the province as pupil numbers continue to fall due to declining birth rates.
Places that are too small or have too many empty desks are likely to be in the firing line as a new commission is set up to audit pupil numbers in every school, then set out ways “for restructuring the school estate”. Job losses are inevitable, though Mr Givan said teachers will be redeployed where possible.
Meanwhile the amount of money for special needs education is to be chopped back, Mr Givan stating that relying on one-to-one support from classroom assistants “is not always the most effective or inclusive way to meet pupils’ needs”.
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