June 27, 2017, The Irish News (Northern Ireland): Annual spending on special educational needs tops £250 million http://www.irishnews.com/news/2017/06/27/news/annual-spending-on-special-educational-needs-tops-250-million-1067379/
RAPIDLY increasing numbers of children with special educational needs is causing spending to spiral, a new audit report has found.
Annual expenditure on SEN [Special Education Needs] is now higher than £250 million, placing greater pressure on the system. …
The Special Educational Needs and Disability Order places a duty on the Education Authority (EA) to ensure children can be educated in the mainstream. …
In 2016/17. about 76,300 schoolchildren had SEN, with or without a statement, up from 67,000 five years ago.
The Department of Education's own code of practice anticipates that only about two per cent of the school population should require a statement. In 2016/17, five per cent of children had a statement. This equates to more than 17,000 children, an increase of 21 per cent since 2011/12.
The report found that spending exceeded £250m last year, of which £217m was EA expenditure - up from £167m in 2011/12.
Mr Donnelly reported that the department said given the rising numbers of children with SEN, "this is a challenge for the department, the EA and schools, in terms of increasing pressure on the education budget". …
"My report shows that the number of children with special educational needs and the associated costs are continuing to rise. In 2016/17, just over 76,300 children were reported. That is 22 per cent of the school population and higher than in England.
top of page
Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
CHECK OUT MY SUBSTACK:
https://annedachel.substack.com/
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
Search
bottom of page