Ulster Unionist Party Education Spokesperson, Rosemary Barton MLA, has raised concerns that the needs of pupils may not be properly addressed with the proposed amalgamation of seven SEN schools in Belfast. The proposal is to merge 7 schools into 3, with differing disabilities ranging from physical to learning difficulties to emotional and behavioural difficulties.

Mrs Barton said

“Whilst I appreciate the importance of providing a broad curriculum and the social values associated with interaction with a larger peer group, I fear the amalgamation of these schools may simply be a cost cutting exercise. The young people and their individual needs and support must be central to this proposed reorganisation. These are often vulnerable young people, with many needing individual attention and support and therefore they must be educated in manageable groups and have access to speech and language therapy, orthopaedic and physiotherapy along with close links to social services.

“Further, one of the proposed amalgamations, would include amalgamating pupils with physical disabilities, with those of severe learning concerns and emotional and challenging behaviour from preschool to 19 years.  The needs of these children are so diverse that staff would have to go through an entire retraining process and up skilling to enable them to address and meet the needs of all the different groups of pupils within the ‘new school’.

“Many teachers and classroom assistants are already overwhelmed from paperwork with Individual Education Plans, so if class sizes were to increase as a result of amalgamations it would simply further exacerbate teacher work load. In trying to meet this wider range of issues there could be a danger that no pupil’s needs are fully and properly addressed.

“It was very disappointing when meeting last week with the Director of Children and Young Peoples Services Clare Mangan to discuss the Consultation on Special Needs Support for Children in Early years that Ms Mangan never once alluded to the proposed consultation on the Special Schools Estate in Belfast.”