To ask the Minister of Health to detail any engagement he has had with the Minister of Education in relation to placing allied health professionals in multi disciplinary teams to support schools with special educational needs learners.

I regularly engage with the Minister for Education and his Departmental officials in relation to relevant matters regarding children with special educational needs (SEN). My officials work collaboratively across numerous structures as part of the End-to-End Review of Special Educational Need (SEN).

AHPs take a multidisciplinary and multiagency approach to address the therapeutic needs of the children and families with special educational needs.

Partnership working between Health and Education is essential to the delivery of a population health approach to support children and young people with SEN and a more seamless provision of multi-disciplinary, multi-service and multi-sectoral support. The close working relationship between my Department, the Department of Education (DE), the Education Authority (EA) and the Public Health Agency (PHA) is increasingly crucial as both sectors respond to the increasing demands within the Special Schools, helping to inform planning and service response.

PHA is currently working in partnership with EA on a comprehensive needs assessment around the health needs of children attending SEN schools. The review aims to identify the specific health challenges faced by this population group, evaluating the complexity of their needs to ascertain the support systems necessary to ensure timely, child-specific care within the school environment. In addition to this work is underway to further understand the AHP therapeutic needs of the children and young people currently enrolled in Special Schools. This information will inform the commissioning of services for current and future need.

My Department has also been working closely with the PHA and EA to proactively identify further opportunities to develop co-operative working, that will assist in delivering a more holistic approach to address the diverse needs of children and young people.

This has facilitated cross agency learning, enhanced engagement and interagency working, which is critical in developing a wrap-around approach to supporting this cohort of children and young people at the earliest stage.