SEND watchdog warns reforms could weaken children’s legal rights

The Children’s Law Centre CEO John O'Doherty, alongside Rachel Hogan BL, SEND Specialist Legal Adviser and Kathryn Stevenson, Head of Legal, pictured at Parliament Buildings after presenting to the education committee on the proposed SEN Regs.

The Children’s Law Centre has warned Stormont’s Education Committee that proposed new SEND regulations could weaken legal protections for vulnerable children, reduce the role of parents in decision-making and leave parts of the new framework open to Judicial Review if major concerns are not addressed before implementation.

Children’s rights concerns raised at Stormont scrutiny session

The organisation submitted detailed legal evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee ahead of a scrutiny session on Wednesday, 13 May, examining the proposed Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations (NI) 2026 and wider SEND reform.

While acknowledging the need for reform and recognising years of engagement between stakeholders and the Department of Education, the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) warned the current proposals risk weakening protections for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities if significant changes are not made.

CLC’s submission concludes that information currently provided to the Education Committee is “not sufficiently accurate” and “incomplete”, warning there is a strong possibility of unintended consequences for children and young people if the framework proceeds in its current form.

Warning over weakening of Statements of SEN

One of the most significant concerns raised relates to proposed changes to Statements of SEN.

CLC argues that amendments to how special educational provision is recorded could reduce the specificity of statements, weaken the role of health provision within statements and make support less clearly defined for families.

The submission warns this could make provision harder to enforce in practice, potentially undermining protections children currently rely upon to access appropriate educational support.

The organisation says aspects of the revised framework risk unintentionally weakening existing legal safeguards rather than strengthening them.

Parents’ formal role could be reduced

CLC also raised serious concerns over proposals to remove parental “advice” from the statutory assessment process.

Although parents would still be able to submit evidence, the organisation argues parental advice is often critical in ensuring a child’s needs are properly understood and accurately reflected within Statements of SEN.

The submission warns reducing the formal role of parental advice risks weakening the quality of assessments and provision planning while diminishing the voice of families within the SEND process.

CLC notes that the High Court has previously warned against the dangers of devaluing parental evidence in SEN decision-making.

Concerns over delay, bureaucracy and legal compliance

The Children’s Law Centre says the wider transformation programme risks conflicting with the original intention behind the SEND Act (NI) 2016, which aimed to strengthen co-operation between education and health services while improving provision for children with SEND.

Its submission says the revised framework still fails to address longstanding criticisms surrounding early identification, intervention and assessment, with heavily bureaucratic systems continuing to create barriers for families trying to access support.

CLC also warns that parts of the revised Regulations and Code of Practice may unintentionally undermine rights and protections contained within primary legislation, including the Education (NI) Order 1996 and the SEND Act (NI) 2016.

The organisation stresses that regulations cannot lawfully frustrate the purpose or intention of legislation already passed by the Assembly and warns failures in this area could leave elements of the framework vulnerable to Judicial Review.

Questions over whether schools can cope by September 2026

The submission also questions whether Northern Ireland’s education system is realistically in a position to implement reforms of this scale by September 2026.

CLC points to ongoing workforce pressures, existing delays within the SEND system and concerns already raised by trade unions and sector organisations.

It warns introducing the revised framework in its current form could “increase bureaucracy and undermine existing legal rights and legal thresholds”.

Additional concerns highlighted in the submission include:

• Outdated impact assessments which do not reflect current pressures on schools and services

• Restrictions on professional recommendations which may conflict with professional duties of care

• Concerns that responsibility for SEND provision could disproportionately shift from the Education Authority onto schools

Recognition of positive engagement and accepted recommendations

Despite its concerns, the Children’s Law Centre acknowledged that the Department of Education has accepted and implemented several recommendations raised during previous consultations.

These include measures intended to strengthen access to justice and improve safeguards for young people within the SEND system.

CLC said it remains committed to working collaboratively with both the Department of Education and the Education Authority to ensure reforms genuinely improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.

Concerns over scrutiny process and transparency

The submission also raises concerns that parts of the revised SEND framework are already being introduced operationally before the Regulations and revised Code of Practice have completed Assembly scrutiny and approval.

CLC says this includes implementation through the Education Authority’s Graduated Response Framework and related processes.

The organisation warns this risks pre-empting democratic scrutiny and creating confusion across the education sector given the scale, complexity and interdependency of the proposed changes.

CLC argues it is not possible to properly scrutinise such a large volume of documentation within a short timeframe and says the Education Committee should consider recommending that the Department pause or withdraw the regulations until further work is completed.

Opening remarks warn mistakes of the past could be repeated

In opening remarks delivered to Stormont’s Education Committee, CLC said it had represented children and families in Northern Ireland for more than 20 years and remained firmly committed to reform that genuinely improves outcomes.

The organisation said challenges within the current SEND system have been repeatedly identified in critical reports over many years and stressed reform must be genuinely child-centred, focused on early identification of need, effective intervention and proper co-operation across children’s services.

CLC said it had participated extensively throughout the reform process, contributing legal analysis, consultation responses and involvement in advisory groups linked to the development of the SEND (NI) Act 2016, revised regulations and Code of Practice.

However, it warned there is now “a significant danger that the mistakes of the past will be repeated, entrenched and magnified” if concerns across the regulations, revised code and Education Authority transformation programmes are not fully addressed.

The organisation also said many of its concerns are shared across the voluntary sector, by school leaders, teaching unions and other stakeholders working directly with children and families.

CLC stressed that successful reform must be properly sequenced, adequately resourced and grounded in the reality of existing pressures within schools and services.

It also highlighted concerns surrounding long-term funding clarity for Learning Support Coordinator time, describing this non-teaching support as fundamental to the effective operation of SEN processes at school level.

Full submission available online

The Children’s Law Centre’s full written submission to Stormont’s Education Committee can be viewed and downloaded here:

https://childrenslawcentre.org.uk/?mdocs-file=8923

The growing dispute over SEND reform now places increasing pressure on the Department of Education as scrutiny intensifies around whether the proposed framework will genuinely improve outcomes for vulnerable children — or leave schools, families and support services facing even greater strain.