MEMORANDUM FROM THE WESTERN EDUCATION
AND LIBRARY BOARD
INTRODUCTION
The definition of special needs in the Education
and Libraries (NI) Order 1996 is as follows:
A child has special educational needs if
he has a learning difficulty which calls for special educational
provision to be made for him.
A child has a learning difficulty if he has
a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority
of children of his age and/or has a disability which hinders his
use of educational facilities generally provided for children
of his age in ordinary schools.
A learning difficulty may be intellectual,
physical, sensory, emotional, behavioural, medical or of some
other nature.
It is estimated that some 20 per cent of pupils
(12,000 children in the Western Education and Library Board area)
may experience special educational needs at some stage in their
school careers. For some, this will be short-term—for example,
recovering from a period of illness. For others it will be long-term.
The majority of children with special educational
needs will have their needs addressed by their school from within
its own resources. Those children with more complex learning difficulties
will have their needs assessed in accordance with statutory legislation
and the required special educational provision will be specified
by the Board in a formal statement of special educational needs.
SECTION 1—ANNUAL EXPENDITURE ON SPECIAL
EDUCATION
The Committee has asked for information on the
Board's current expenditure on special education and a comparison
on this per head over the past 10 years.
The figures below show annual recurrent expenditure
by the Board on special schools and home tuition over the 10 year
period from 1987-88. Figures are taken from the Board's annual
accounts.
The figures do not include expenditure on special
educational needs pupils in mainstream schools or in special units
attached to mainstream schools. Expenditure on these pupils is
included within the totals for the various school sectors and
cannot be separately identified.
| Tables: Identifiable expenditure on Special Schools and Home Tuition |
| Financial Year | (£m) |
| 1987-88 | 715,482 |
| 1988-89 | 1,176,830 |
| 1989-90 | 1,396,349 |
| 1990-91 | 1,591,155 |
| 1991-92 | 1,856,834 |
| 1992-93 | 14,632,756 |
| 1993-94 | 5,626,374 |
| 1994-95 | 6,045,484 |
| 1995-96 | 7,082,180 |
| 1996-97 | 7,534,337 |
| 1 Prior to 1992-93 the cost of teachers' salaries was met centrally by the Department of Education. |
In addition to the sums shown above, the following expenditure
is part of the Board's budget for special education for the 1997-98
financial year:
Fees for pupils attending special schools outside the Board's
area: £190,000
Peripatetic teachers for children with special educational needs:
£608,000
Educational Psychology Service: £562,000
Education Welfare Service: £580,000
Targeting Social Need
In the Board's LMS formula for funding mainstream schools,
additional funding is targeted at those schools facing the greatest
problems of social and educational disadvantage. The Board has
allocated such funding to individual schools on the basis of two
main factors. The bulk of Targeting Social Need funds are allocated
on the basis of free school meals. The balance of such funds have
been allocated primarily on the basis of an average measure of
the incidence of special educational need.
The funding allocated to controlled and maintained schools
in this way since the introduction of LMS is detailed below:
| | Special
needs
£ | Social
deprivation
£ | Total |
| 1991-92 | 3,195,990 | 1,486,268 | 4,682,258 |
| 1992-93 | 3,712,379 | 1,876,940 | 5,589,319 |
| 1993-94 | 3,882,960 | 2,759,561 | 6,642,521 |
| 1994-95 | 3,391,305 | 3,511,820 | 6,903,125 |
| 1995-96 | 3,223,873 | 4,189,115 | 7,412,988 |
| 1996-97 | 2,204,878 | 6,215,282 | 8,420,160 |
| 1997-98 | 2,227,878 | 6,269,883 | 8,497,761 |
| Total | 21,849,263 | 26,308,869 | 48,158,132 |
SECTION 2—DEMAND FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION
The Committee has asked for information on the present demand
for special education and the expected future demand.
(a) Pupils with statements of special educational needs
Special educational provision (including school placement)
for statemented pupils is determined by the Board. The number
of statemented pupils by type of school in the 1996-97 year is
provided in the following table, together with comparative statistics
for 1994-95 and 1995-96 to illustrate trends:
| | 1996-97 | 1995-96 | 1994-95 |
| Special Schools | 880 | 847 | 849 |
| Special Units | 60 | 55 | 56 |
| Mainstream | 445 | 434 | 437 |
(b) Referrals to Educational Psychology Service
The Educational Psychology Service provides advice in relation
to any child with special educational needs or who is considered
as possibly having such needs. The number of children who have
been referred to the Educational Psychology Service for assessment
in the 1996-97 school year is provided in the following table,
together with comparative statistics for 1994-95 and 1995-96 to
illustrate trends:
A very important aspect of special educational needs provision
is the availability of specialist support services. The Code of
Practice presupposes that schools have access to a wide range
of specialist services to support provision at Stage Three. Effective
intervention, particularly at Stage Three of the Code, may reduce
the need for expensive assessment and statements of special educational
needs. The Educational Psychology Service is likely to play a
crucial role in the implementation of the Code. It will be required
both to offer guidance at Stage Three and to "gate-keep"
at Stage Four of the Code. It is likely, if the English experience
is replicated, that the Code will increase demands from both schools
and parents on the Educational Psychology Service. There is a
particular danger that increasing referrals from schools will
decrease the time available for the Educational Psychology Service
to play a more developmental and consultancy role, and that this
in turn will increase the likelihood of referrals.
(c) Support Services for Children with Special Educational
Needs
Support services are provided by the Board, through peripatetic
teachers and outreach teachers from special schools, for learning
difficulties including behavioural problems, language disorders,
hearing-impaired, visually-impaired and for pre-school children.
These services offer support to the parents and teachers of children
with special needs as well as teaching support to the children
themselves. Where a child is experiencing difficulty in a mainstream
school, the service can be involved prior to a formal assessment
of special educational needs being required, at what equates to
Stage Three of the Code of Practice.
The number of pupils who were provided with such support
in 1996-97 is as follows:
| | Number of
pupils
supported | Number of
pupils on
waiting list
for support |
| Specific Learning Difficulties | 274 | 178 |
| Moderate Learning Difficulties | 185 | 155 |
| Emotional Behavioural Difficulties | 316 | 75 |
| Speech and Language Difficulties | 130 | 85 |
The demand for these services is increasing with consequent
strains on the services resulting in growing waiting lists.
(d) Future demand for special education
It is not possible to make reliable estimates of future demands
for special educational needs provision. The Warnock Report in
1978 concluded that approximately 20 per cent of children may
have special educational needs at some time in their lives and
that a smaller proportion, 2 per cent, might require a formal
statement of special education needs. The Code of Practice recognises
the following areas of learning difficulty which have emerged
since that time:
Specific learning difficulties, e.g., dyslexia;
speech and language difficulties;
emotional and behavioural difficulties including Attention Deficit
Disorder and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.
There has been a significant increase in referrals to the
Board of children who fall into the above categories.
The Audit Commission's statistics for England and Wales show
that 102 LEAs (88 per cent) have recorded an increase in the number
of the statements maintained over the two year period 1994-96.
Eight-two LEAs (71 per cent) saw a growth of over 10 per cent
in the number of statements. Only 14 LEAs (12 per cent) recorded
a decrease in the number of statements. There has been a steady
increase in the proportion of the Northern Ireland school population
receiving a statement of special educational needs. This is now
edging above the theoretical 2 per cent level established by the
Warnock Report.
SECTION 3—REPRESENTATIONS ON NEED FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION
FACILITIES
The Committee has asked for details of the representations
received by the Board on the need for special education facilities
and the subsequent representations made by the Board to Government.
A prime focus of capital expenditure in the Special Education
sector has been a programme to replace the former special care
schools, which were transferred from the Department of Health
and Social Services to the Department of Education in 1987. Since
1987, two former special care schools in the Board's area have
been replaced—Foyleview in Londonderry and Killadeas in
Enniskillen. The Board has recently submitted a number of additional
schemes to the Department of Education for inclusion in its capital
priorities list.
In general, accommodation and equipment provision in the
majority of special schools and units are considered satisfactory
or better. These schools and units are subject to regular general
and focused inspections. If deficiencies in accommodation or equipment
are highlighted in the inspection report, the Board attempts to
address such deficiencies from within its allocation of funds
or through representations to the Department of Education for
additional funding.
Other areas of need for which representations have been made
include the following:
The provision of speech and language therapy is the prime
responsibility of Health and Social Services Boards and Trusts,
but the Education Board is held ultimately accountable. The level
of speech and language therapy provided to children in different
parts of the Board's area is patchy, and numerous representations
have been made about this to the Western Health and Social Services
Board and to the Department of Education. Similar problems arise
from the provision of physiotherapy and, particularly, occupational
therapy.
More children with profound and/or multiple mental, physical
and medical problems are surviving to school age and beyond. The
need for appropriate nursing care for these children has been
regularly highlighted by the Principals of the schools which they
attend.
There is an increasing number of children with physical disabilities
who are attending mainstream schools and a major problem for them
is access to the school buildings and appropriate facilities.
The Board receives representations and recommendations from occupational
therapists and other professionals regarding the need for stairs-lifts;
ramps; disabled toilets; changing tables; special seating arrangements;
and information and communication technology aids.
The above areas of need are discussed at meetings of the
inter-board Special Education Officers Group which are attended
by representatives from the Department of Education. A Regional
Review Group, representative of Education and Health and Social
Services Boards, has been established to consider more effective
methods of co-ordination of services. Arrangements are also being
made for the establishment of Area Children and Young People's
Committees in each Health and Social Services Board area, involving
representatives of education services and other key agencies and
bodies.
SECTION 4—SHORTFALL IN SPECIAL EDUCATION PROVISION
The Committee has asked for information on what shortfall,
if any, in special education has been identified by the Board.
As indicated in Section 3, there has been a signficant increase
in referrals to the Board of children who fall into the following
categories of learning difficulties:
Specific learning difficulties—dyslexia
Speech and language difficulties
Emotional and behavioural difficulties
The numbers of children who are on the waiting list for support
from the Board's peripatetic and outreach teaching services are
increasing, with consequent waiting lists of up to one year for
such support to be provided.
The Code of Practice presupposes that schools can access,
on some rational basis, high quality external services to supplement
their own endeavours at Stage 3. The availability of such services
is an essential part of the staged process and an important means
of enabling mainstream schools to make provision for pupils with
special educational needs. Adequate resourcing is required to
enable appropriate support services to be provided at Stage 3
of the Code.
There is a major gap in provision in the area of teacher
training. One way of ensuring that teachers in mainstream schools
can respond to a range of pupil diversity, including pupils with
special educational needs, is to develop their skills in recognising
and addressing such needs. The Code of Practice will apply to
all schools, so all teachers must have the opportunity to acquire
such skills. In addition, there are no longer any special initial
teacher training course for teachers in the special school sector.
A framework of accredited training for Special Educational Needs
Co-ordinators should be developed within Northern Ireland.
The current staffing of 17 educational psychologists in the
Western Board is providing inadequate to meet the increasing and
varied demands put upon the Educational Psychology Service. Funding
has been provided recently by Department of Education to the Boards
to enable them to appoint two educational psychologists each during
the coming financial year. At present, Queens University's MSc
course trains about six or seven educational psychologists per
year, not all of whom wish to work in Northern Ireland. It is
likely, therefore, that the Boards will experience difficulty
in recruiting and filling all of the additional posts.
Some of the special schools and special units in the Board's
area are at, or near, full capacity. Belmont House Special School,
for children with moderate learning difficulties, and Foyleview
Special School, for children with severe learning difficulties,
both situated in Londonderry, are at full capacity. Similarly
the Language Units in Londonderry, Omagh and Enniskillen are at
full capacity. Speech therapy is a key part of the provision for
children with speech and language difficulties. As indicated in
Section 4, the level of speech and language therapy provided to
children in different parts of the Board's area is, at best, patchy.
A category of special need which is of particular concern
to mainstream schools relates to pupils with emotional and behavioural
difficulties, where disruptive behaviour may have a detrimental
effect on the education of other pupils at the school. The Department
of Education has recognised this issue and is moving to address
it via a range of measures recently announced in the context of
the School Improvement Programme. It is important to recognise,
however, that there is a continuum of emotional and behavioural
difficulties and it is likely that there will continue to be gaps
in provision for those children and young people who are most
seriously disturbed and who require the intervention of child
and adolescent psychiatric services.
Since September 1997, parents of children with statements
of special educational needs have had the statutory right to express
a preference of school. An increasing proportion of children with
statements who have a range of special needs are being placed
in mainstream schools in accordance with parental preference.
The Board's budget for special education is finite and is not
demand-determined. It would be regrettable if the Board has to
dip into the general schools' budget for all children to meet
the statemented needs of a few; a self-defeating process which
would leave schools less able to cater for children with learning
difficulties from their diminishing resources and increase the
pressure from parents and Principals to secure the earmarked funding
attached to statements.
SECTION 5—EFFECT OF CHILDREN ORDER AND CODE OF PRACTICE
ON SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL PROVISION
The Committee has asked for information on what effect the
Children Order and related Code of Practice, especially the right
of parents to request assessments of their children's needs, will
have on the need for provision.
The Children Order (NI) 1995 promotes a holistic view of
the needs of the child and has had the effect of promoting closer
and more effective co-operation between the Western Education
and Library Board and the Western Health and Social Services Board.
In relation to special educational needs, the main legislation
is the Education (NI) Order 1996 which makes the following key
provisions:-
From September 1997:
parental rights of appeal have been extended;
an independent appeals Tribunal has been established;
parents of children with statements of special educational
needs have a statutory right to express a preference of school;
statements of special educational needs are more detailed;
annual reviews of statements are more vigorously structured;
transition plans are required for young people over age 14
with statements of special educational needs;
Education Boards and schools must develop and maintain policies
for special educational needs.
From September 1998:
A Special Educational Needs Code of Practice will provide
guidance on the organisation of special educational needs within
mainstream schools, including a formal five stage process for
identifying and assessing special educational needs.
A statutory time limit will apply to the assessment and statementing
procedure.
The new legislation and Code of Practice will require the
Board and schools to review and adjust existing practice and procedures
in order to meet their statutory responsibilities. Particular
requirements include:
In-service training programmes for teachers and school governors;
expansion of Board administrative and support services;
the promotion of effective inter-agency co-ordination;
the development of greater parental involvement in assessment
procedures.
These requirements will increase demand for the following
provision:
School-based support for pupils with special educational needs
who require provision at Stages 1-3 of the Code of Practice;
in-service training programmes for teachers in relation to:
identification and assessment procedures;
preparation of individual education plans;
adoption of appropriate teaching strategies;
peripatetic and outreach teaching services from special schools
for pupils with special educational needs in mainstream schools;
Board support services, in particular the educational psychology
service;
Board administrative support to meet its statutory requirements
within appropriate timescales for the completion of statements
of special educational needs, annual reviews and transition plans.
SECTION 6—ASSESSMENT OF CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL
NEEDS
The Committee has asked for information on how many children
are awaiting assessment within the Board's area and what the causes
of delay are; and how many parents have requested assessment.
The main source of referrals for children to be assessed
by the Board's Educational Psychology Service are schools. Other
referrals arise largely from various professionals within the
Health and Social Services Board, particularly school medical
officers. A small number of parents have requested assessment
of their children's needs.
The number of children referred for statutory assessment,
Code of Practice Stage 4, during the previous 2 school years was
as follows:
Currently 248 children are in the process of being assessed.
The number of children referred to the Educational Psychology
Service, Code of Practice Stage 3, in 1997 was 2005. The position
at 31 December 1997 of children within this number of referrals
awaiting assessment by an educational psychologist was as follows:
Referred
The general aim of the Educational Psychology Service is
to undertake the psychological assessment of children referred
for the first time by various referrors within six months of the
date of referral. Assessment is conducted as quickly as is consistent
with thoroughness. The amount of time devoted to the assessment
of any child is dependent upon the age of the child, the child's
concentration span, the nature and complexity of the problem,
the co-operation of parents and the need for consultation with
other professionals. Court of Appeal judgments have emphasised
the necessity for educational psychologists to exercise a duty
of care to children and young people when assessing and advising.
Failure to do so may result in allegations of personal negligence
for which the Board could be vicariously liable.
It is essential that common criteria are developed within
the Board and across Northern Ireland for the referral and assessment
of pupils with special educational needs to ensure that the limited
resources available are concentrated on those pupils with the
highest levels of need.
19 March 1998
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