AQW 7704/22-27 Written question to the Minister of Education
To ask the Minister of Education what is the current longest waiting time for the issue of a statement of special educational needs.
Asked by Nick Mathison MLA on 28 February 2024
- Answered
- Written
- Tabled
- 28 February 2024
- Answer due by
- 14 March 2024
- Answered
- 11 March 202412 days after tabling
- Department
- Department of Education
- Priority question
- No
Answer
The Education Authority (EA) has advised that the current longest waiting time for the issue of a statement of special educational needs (SEN) is 72 weeks.
While it is wholly unacceptable that any child is waiting this long for an assessment of their needs, my understanding is that the circumstances around the case are significantly complex and that the process itself can, in these type of cases, sometimes be the barrier.
It is for this reason that the assessment and statementing process is a key workstream under the End to End (E2E) Review of SEN as this is a critical component to ensuring that children and young people receive the right support, from the right people, at the right time and in the right place.