To ask the Minister of Education for an update on the pilot programme of revised classroom assistant deployment.

The Department of Education (DE) and the Education Authority (EA) embarked on an End to End Review (E2E) of Special Educational Needs (SEN) in early 2023 to examine the entire SEN system from a policy perspective to ensure delivery and outcomes are in line with policy intent.

While there is currently no ‘pilot programme’ in place, how professional support is deployed within the classroom is currently being taken forward as part of the E2E. This work will explore alternative models of providing professional support in the classroom with a view to developing a range of options to allow for more flexible, evidence-based, and well-planned supports for children with a statement of SEN.