Sept 30, 2020, Belfast Newsletter: Special Educational Needs: Peter Weir launches consultation on improving provision https://www.newsletter.co.uk/education/special-educational-needs-peter-weir-launches-consultation-improving-provision-2987913 A public consultation process aimed at ensuring children with special educational needs (SEN) reach their full potential has been launched by the Education Minister Peter Weir. The minister has also announced a £7.5 million [$9.7M U.S.] funding package to create a new SEN framework which will provide schools with additional resources. The consultation comes after a scathing Audit Office report called for an “urgent overhaul” of the system to improve SEN provision. Auditors found that only 15% of SEN statements from the Education Authority – setting out a child’s needs and the help they should have – are issued within the 26-week statutory limit…. Last year there were 67,224 children with a reported special educational need in Northern Ireland, including those with and without formal statements. …
