To ask the Minister of Education (i) for his assessment of the effectiveness of the new Family Support Link Officer role in the Education Authority; and (ii) whether families who were assigned a Family Support Link Officer will be given the opportunity to provide feedback on this engagement.

The Education Authority (EA) appointed a number of Family Support Link Officers (FSLOs) in June this year to support the families of children with a statement of special educational needs (SEN) who did not yet have a confirmed school place. These officers provided a regular, family-led single point of contact with parents and carers as they awaited confirmation of their child’s placement.

The EA intends to complete an evaluation of the use of FSLOs by capturing the views of parents and carers in the coming weeks.