Children’s Law Centre Presents to the Education Committee on Proposed SEND Regulations
14 May 2026
The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) has submitted detailed evidence to the Northern Ireland Assembly’s Education Committee on the proposed Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations (NI) 2026.
While recognising the need for reform and acknowledging years of engagement between stakeholders and the Department of Education, CLC warns that the current proposals risk weakening protections for children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) if significant concerns are not addressed before the regulations proceed.
CLC’s submission concludes that the information provided to the Committee is currently “not sufficiently accurate” and “incomplete”, and that there is a strong possibility of unintended consequences for children and young people.
A Weakening of Children’s Rights
CLC’s submission warns that parts of the proposed SEND framework could unintentionally weaken existing legal protections for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities.
A major concern relates to proposed changes to the format and content of Statements of SEN. CLC argues that amendments to how special educational provision is recorded could reduce the level of specificity in statements, weaken health provision within statements and make support less clearly defined and potentially harder to enforce in practice.
Parental Voices Being Removed
CLC also raises serious concerns about the proposed removal of parental “advice” from the statutory assessment process. Whilst parents will still be able to provide evidence, the submission argues that parental advice is often essential in ensuring a child’s needs are fully understood and accurately reflected within statements of SEN.
Reducing the formal role of parental advice risks weakening the quality of assessments and provision planning, while also 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.
Weakening and Delay of Support to Children
The submission warns that the current trajectory of the wider transformation changes may conflict with the clear intention of the Northern Ireland Assembly when passing the SEND Act (NI) 2016, which sought to strengthen co-operation between education and health services and improve the specification of provision for children with SEND. It also fails to address significant criticisms in numerous reports, including operational failings around early identification, intervention and assessment, with heavily bureaucratic systems creating barriers when accessing support.
The Risk of Judicial Review
CLC raises concerns that some elements 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. Regulations cannot lawfully frustrate the purpose or intention of legislation passed by the Assembly and notes that failures in this regard could leave aspects of the framework vulnerable to Judicial Review.
Concerns over implementation
CLC also questions whether the education system is in a position to implement such extensive reform by September 2026, particularly given ongoing workforce pressures, existing delays within the SEND system and concerns raised by trade unions and sector organisations.
The submission states that introducing the revised framework in its current form could “increase bureaucracy and undermine existing legal rights and legal thresholds”.
Additional concerns raised include:
- Outdated impact assessments which do not reflect current pressures on schools and services.
- That professional recommendations are being restricted which conflicts with the professional duty of care.
- Concerns that responsibility for SEND provision may disproportionately shift from the Education Authority onto schools.
Recognition of positive engagement
Alongside its concerns, CLC acknowledges that the Department of Education has accepted and implemented several recommendations made during previous consultations. These include changes designed to strengthen access to justice and improve safeguards for young people.
Call for Further Scrutiny
The submission further highlights concerns that aspects of the revised SEND framework are already being introduced operationally, including through the Education Authority’s Graduated Response Framework and related processes, before the Regulations and revised Code of Practice have completed Assembly scrutiny and approval processes.
CLC argues this risks pre-empting democratic scrutiny and creating confusion across the education sector, particularly given the scale and complexity of the proposed changes.
CLC is urging the Education Committee to carefully scrutinise the proposals before they are laid before the Assembly. It further states that it is not possible to scrutinise such a high volume of documentation properly within a short time period and the Committee should consider recommending that the Department pause or withdraw the regulations until further work is completed.
The full submission outlines detailed legal and operational concerns across the proposed regulations and revised Code of Practice, focusing on ensuring that reforms strengthen, rather than weaken, children’s rights and access to support.
CLC remains committed to working collaboratively with the Department and Education Authority to ensure reforms genuinely improve outcomes for children and young people with SEND.