How do I get additional support in Northern Ireland?
In Northern Ireland, a child or young person has special educational needs (SEN) if they have a learning difficulty or disability which means they need or are likely to need extra or specialised support at school.
You have SEN if you:
- Have a significantly greater difficulty in learning than the majority of other young people your age, or,
- Have a disability which prevents you from using, or makes it harder for you to use, facilities provided for other young people your age in a mainstream school.
For example, as a deaf young person you may need speech and language therapy or a radio aid to hear in class. Many deaf young people meet the definition of SEN but not all.
Colleges in Northern Ireland usually use the phrases 'learning difference' or 'disability' instead of SEN. The information on these pages is only about schools.
You can find more information in the Code of Practice on the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs.
The Minister of Education is proposing changes to the SEN system in Northern Ireland.
The proposed changes include:
- The Education Authority must provide more information on how it will support children and young people with SEN.
- Young people over 16 will have more rights and control over the support they receive.
- The Education Authority must provide mediation if there is a disagreement over the statement of SEN.
There is no change, however, to the definition of SEN.
It’s not yet clear when the reforms will come into force. See our campaigns page for updates on these reforms, or read about them in more detail on the Department of Education website.
Schools have a responsibility to identify children and young people with SEN, take action to remove any barriers to their learning and put effective support in place.
The majority of deaf children and young people with SEN will be supported through school-based support.
School-based support has three levels of increasing support:
- The teacher talks to you, your parents and other teachers to assess your SEN and make adaptations so you can access your education fully. The special educational needs coordinator (SENCO) will advise the teacher and add you to the school or college’s SEN register.
- The SENCO will assess you and create an Individual Education Plan (IEP), including your needs and what support you should have to meet those needs. They will monitor your progress and review your support regularly.
- Your IEP is reviewed and outside support might be brought in for example from an educational psychologist or a speech and language therapist.
Examples of support through School Action or School Action Plus could be:
- Technology: A radio aid or soundfield system to help you hear in classes or assemblies
- Help in school: This could be from a Teacher of the Deaf, notetakers, communication support worker (CSW) or learning support assistant
- Improving the school environment: Fitting carpets and curtains to reduce background noise
- Deaf awareness: Training and guidance for staff so they learn how to be deaf aware, like not turning away while they’re talking and making sure videos have subtitles.
If your school can’t provide enough support to meet your needs through school-based support then you (or your school) can ask for a statutory assessment to see if you need a statement of SEN to access further support.
Statutory assessments and statements of SEN are usually only needed if your school can’t provide all the support you need or it's unlikely they’ll be able to. If your school have tried different things to support you but you're still finding things hard, a statutory assessment could be the next option.
A statutory assessment is a detailed assessment carried out by the education authority involving specialist professionals, including an educational psychologist and your school to find out what your special educational needs are.
A statement of SEN is a legal document, based on the findings of the assessment, which sets out what your needs are, what support you should receive and where you should go to school.
If you have a statement of SEN you’ll have a review meeting every 12 months to make sure you’re still receiving the right support and making progress. In Year 10, the review meeting will be used to plan what happens when you leave school at age 16. Your Year 10 review will be used as a basis for your transition plan. During the review and transition process you should be asked your views, particularly when it comes to big decisions like what subjects you want to do and where you want to study.
If you have a big decision to make about your future see our tips on making decisions.
The provision in your statement of SEN should match your needs. Depending on your needs, it could include the following support:
- A specialist placement, for example at a deaf school
- Technology, such as a radio aid (although you shouldn’t need a statement of SEN to get a radio aid)
- 1-1 support at school such as a communication support worker or learning support assistant
- Specialist speech and language therapy
- Help so you can learn British Sign Language (BSL)
- Notetakers
- Communication support, such as a BSL interpreter
- Deaf awareness training for people at your school.
If you request a statement of SEN, even if the local authority do an assessment, there’s no guarantee you will get one. Many deaf young people don’t have statements but that doesn’t mean they’re not entitled to support.
If you do have a statement of SEN, at every annual review the local authority will review your support and may change what you receive. They could increase your support or if you are doing well they may try to reduce it. They will also consider whether you still need to have a statement of SEN.
If any of the following happen please contact our Helpline for further advice and support:
- You don’t have a statement of SEN but aren’t receiving the support you need
- You have requested a statement of SEN but been turned down
- You have a statement of SEN but still aren’t receiving the support you need
- You have a statement of SEN but your support has been changed
- You had a statement of SEN but it has been taken away
- You aren’t receiving the support your statement of SEN says you should.