Changes to special educational needs laws offer fresh hope for children and families in Northern Ireland

(L-R): Ellie Massey, Trainee Solicitor; Rachel Hogan BL, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser; and Kathryn Stevenson, Head of Legal Services.

Wednesday 11 November 2026

Children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) could benefit from stronger legal protections under revised proposals for Northern Ireland’s education system, following months of intervention by children’s rights advocates concerned that planned reforms could weaken existing safeguards.

The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) has welcomed an agreed way forward with the Department of Education after detailed work to address concerns about how children’s needs are assessed, what support they are legally entitled to receive and how parents and children are involved in decisions.

The development marks progress in a reform process that has faced significant scrutiny, although the revised regulations have not yet been approved and their impact on children and families will depend on how the changes are implemented.

Protecting children’s right to educational support

At the heart of the discussions is the legal framework governing how children with SEND are identified, assessed and provided with additional educational support.

For families, one of the most important issues is ensuring that a child’s statement of special educational needs clearly specifies the provision they require, rather than leaving uncertainty about what support should be delivered.

According to CLC, the work with the Department has secured important safeguards concerning the specification of provision in statements, recognition of health interventions that enable children to access education, and the involvement of children and parents in decisions.

These protections matter because statements are intended to establish the special educational provision required by individual children. The clarity of those requirements can be crucial when families seek to establish whether appropriate support is being provided.

Years of concern over children missing out

Rachel Hogan BL, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser at the Children’s Law Centre, said the reforms must address longstanding failures experienced by children requiring additional support.

“Everyone recognises that children with special educational needs and disabilities face enormous barriers from within our education system. For many years we have witnessed the rights of children being infringed because they have not been getting the right support at the right time.

“It is critical that changes to the SEND framework are effective in addressing those issues. That’s why we have worked constructively with the Department of Education to ensure that is the case.”

The concerns are particularly significant for parents who depend on the assessment and statementing processes to establish their children’s needs and secure appropriate educational provision.

Concerns prompted a pause in reforms

The latest progress follows an open letter published by CLC on 22 April 2026 and supported by a broad coalition of trade unions, children’s charities and other organisations.

The coalition called for a halt to the implementation of new legal provisions through revised regulations and a revised Code of Practice, warning of concerns about their potential impact on children’s rights.

During scrutiny by the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee, the regulations were paused to allow further technical work on protecting those rights.

CLC subsequently worked with the Department of Education on the content of the regulations. That joint engagement has now concluded, with the organisation reporting that significant commitments and assurances have been secured.

Parents and children must have a voice

One of the central issues raised during the process was the importance of ensuring that children and their parents are properly involved in assessments and decisions about special educational provision.

CLC says this has been a particular focus of its discussions with the Department, alongside concerns about identifying needs and ensuring appropriate support is specified.

Ms Hogan said:

“We also want to reassure parents that parental and child input into the assessment and statementing processes has been a focus of our work, making sure the voice of parents and children must be properly considered when decisions are being made.”

She also welcomed the opportunity to influence the proposed legal framework before the regulations progress further.

“We are pleased that we have been provided with the time to support the work of the Department in securing and regulating the rights of children with SEND and that we have been able to reach an agreed way forward.”

Further changes to SEND support remain under scrutiny

Although the joint work on the regulations has concluded, CLC has made clear that its scrutiny of the wider SEND reform programme will continue.

This includes the finalisation of the revised Code of Practice and work by the Education Authority to transform how support is organised and delivered.

Among the developments being examined are Local Impact Teams and the Enhanced Support Model, which CLC says will change how SEND statements are written and how educational provision is delivered.

Ms Hogan said:

“CLC will continue to work with all interested parties to challenge any erosion of rights that may present, including through the finalisation of the Code of Practice and all of the underlying work of the EA in transforming SEND provision, including the development of Local Impact Teams and Enhanced Support Model which will change the way statements of SEND are written and how SEND provision is delivered.”

The organisation's position underlines that agreement on the proposed regulations does not remove the need to examine how the wider reforms operate in practice.

Assembly decision still to come

The next stage rests with the Assembly’s Education Committee, which must decide whether to recommend that the revised regulations proceed to the Assembly for approval and subsequent implementation.

The changes are therefore not yet law, and the announcement does not mean that children currently awaiting assessments or educational support will immediately receive additional provision.

For families across Ballymena, Mid and East Antrim and wider Northern Ireland, the significance of the agreement lies in the proposed protection of rights that underpin decisions about their children’s education.

The crucial test will be whether those safeguards survive the remaining approval process and translate into clear, enforceable entitlements and appropriate support for children in classrooms.

For parents who have spent years seeking the right help for their children, the distinction between stronger protections on paper and meaningful support in school remains fundamental.