Urgent Reform Needed to Support Children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities

23 May 2023

A new independent review of special educational needs services conducted by Ipsos has found that, under the current system and processes, early intervention for children is almost impossible.

Image of child at school in wheelchair. Headline text reads: 'Urgent reform needed to support children with special educational needs and disabilities

The report highlights the need for urgent reform. It builds on a number of critical reports and provides recommendations to improve support for children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

The Children’s Law Centre (CLC) has welcomed the report and called for urgent action, and the necessary ringfenced funding, to ensure meaningful changes are made to provide earlier and more effective support.

Rachel Hogan, SEND expert at the Children’s Law Centre, said:

“This is a welcome report that highlights a number of failures already well known to those who work with children with special educational needs and disabilities. We have been raising these issues for many years and at CLC we see the negative impact on children in our daily work.

Image of Rachel Hogan, with quote reading: "“This is the latest in a number of damning reports highlighting the many failures to enable equality of access to education for children with SEND and offering solutions to fix this broken system. We now need urgent action."

“This is the latest in a number of damning reports highlighting the many failures to enable equality of access to education for children with SEND and offering solutions to fix this broken system. We now need urgent action.

“Interventions must come earlier and the obstacles to securing support must be removed. Interventions should be focused on outcomes for the child, rather than internal process-focused outcomes. Those who work with children should be better trained on how to identify and provide special educational support, with all children’s services co-operating to put support around the child, with schools becoming more accessible and inclusive educational spaces.

“The report also highlights the urgent need for investing in reform. The Children’s Law Centre, along with 200 organisations and individuals, recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, Chris Heaton-Harris, to raise concerns around cuts to children’s services. Playing politics with our children’s futures and failing to properly invest in stabilising and reforming SEND services will not only continue to harm children but it will strip our economy of valuable financial resources and a properly educated workforce in the long-term.”

The Ipsos report can be found at: https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/publications/independent-review-special-educational-needs-services-and-processes

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Education Authority Breached Human Rights of Disabled Children During Covid

February 2023

Image of school bus with headline text: 'Education Authority Breached Human Rights of Disabled Children During Covid'

In two landmark cases, the High Court in Belfast has declared that the human rights of disabled children were breached when they were refused access to school transport, which denied them access to education. The cases were brought before the court through applications seeking leave for judicial review. After the Education Authority (EA) provided solutions for each child, legal declarations were secured through agreement that the children in both cases had been deprived of their right to education under Article 2 of Protocol 1, along with Article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The cases were brought by the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) on behalf of two children after a referral for specialist legal services by the charity Angel Eyes as part of a joint EqualEyes project with CLC, which protects the equality rights of children with visual impairment. The CLC legal team argued that prolonged and disproportionate Covid restrictions on school transport for reasons related to disability were unjustifiable and unlawful, interfering with the right to education.

One child was unable to attend specialist education placements in person for all but one day of nursery and for the entirety of the P1 and P2 academic years. The best interests of the children and their legal entitlements were entirely discounted within the decision making processes of the EA.

After protracted negotiations to seek and develop alternative educational and transport arrangements for the children, the CLC legal team secured landmark declarations where the EA acknowledged that the children’s human rights to education had been breached during the relevant time periods and they were treated differently to other children because of their disabilities.

Speaking after the conclusion of the case, Rachel Hogan, of the Children’s Law Centre, said:

“This is a significant legal milestone for these children, and for all disabled children who have been denied access to services which enable equality of opportunity. The High Court declarations reinforce the importance of ensuring that public authorities do not place unlawful systemic barriers in the way of disabled people, including disabled children. Failure to ensure accessibility of services throughout society is capable of breaching the human rights of groups of children who are protected by law.

Image of Rachel Hogan with pull quote: "We hope these landmark declarations serve as a significant reminder to public authorities and duty bearers more generally that disabled children and young people are entitled to equal treatment and equality of opportunity in all aspects of life."

“When we look at the experience of disabled children throughout Covid, including failures to identify mitigations before implementing restrictions, and also their much slower and ongoing return to normal life compared to others, we get a real understanding of the multiple barriers they face. In our legal casework, CLC sees a system-wide failure of equality for disabled children and their families that reaches far beyond the education sphere and into every element of daily life.

“The remedial actions taken and acknowledgements given to these children by the EA are therefore welcome as it is entirely right that public authorities should openly identify barriers to equality in order to enable these to be removed.

“We hope these landmark declarations serve as a significant reminder to public authorities and duty bearers more generally that disabled children and young people are entitled to equal treatment and equality of opportunity in all aspects of life.”

Speaking anonymously by order of the courts, a parent of one of the children welcomed the decision:

“I brought my child’s case to the attention of the Children’s Law Centre as I felt no person or child should be treated differently due to their disability and medical requirements and excluded from transport and vital education and learning with their peers. My child was made to feel different. This declaration will hopefully promote learning from public bodies and understanding that all children should be treated inclusively.”

A parent of the other child spoke of his frustration that his child was treated unfairly:

“This is an important recognition of the failure to treat disabled children fairly, particularly through Covid restrictions. While my child was being denied access to school transport and denied their right to education, other children were permitted to travel on packed school buses with no masks.

“My child was denied access purely on the basis of their disability, with no serious effort to risk assess the situation or consider the best interests of my child.

“I’m pleased with the declaration, I only wish it wasn’t yet another case where a disabled child has to go to the courts to get access to services. I hope the Education Authority learns from this and properly considers the impact policies have on disabled children.”

An immediate impact

Since securing access to education, the impact on the children was clear to see. One of the children initially received sessions of home education and immediately began to show signs of improvement. She began sleeping better, had more energy and became much happier in herself. She is now fully enjoying social and sensory stimulation, loves going to school and is learning to communicate. The family have more ability to recharge their batteries and to carry out their intense caring role while also looking after their younger child. The child now goes to school three days, has home tuition two days a week and is gradually moving towards full time school based education.

Speaking about the collaborative EqualEyes project, Karen Wilson, Education Advocate Lead at Angel Eyes said: “This result demonstrates the benefit of collaborative work to identify needs and protect the rights of disabled children and young people. Through our work in the EqualEyes project, we were able to identify additional barriers to education and signpost across the project to our partners at CLC to find a legal remedy.”

Pull quote graphic with picture of Karen Wilson and accompanying quote: "This result demonstrates the benefit of collaborative work to identify needs and protect the rights of disabled children and young people. Through our work in the EqualEyes project, we were able to identify additional barriers to education and signpost across the project to our partners at CLC to find a legal remedy."

High Court Declarations

JR226

IT IS HEREBY DECLARED that:

  • The Proposed Respondent breached Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 for the period of time from 24th February 2021 to June 2022 insofar as there was an unlawful interference with the Applicant’s access to education and he was treated differently to other children in the State on the basis of his medical condition contrary to Article 2 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR.

JR225

IT IS HEREBY DECLARED that:

  1. The Respondent failed to discharge its obligations under article 16(5) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 to arrange that the special educational provision indicated in the applicant’s Statement was made for her at school, for the period of time from September 2020 to June 2022, save for periods whereby the applicant was unable to attend school because of illness or otherwise including 16th September 2021 to 24th September 2021 and 15th November 2021 and 28th November 2021 and other various dates;
  2. The Respondent failed to discharge its obligations under Article 86(1) of the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 to make arrangements for the applicant’s suitable education at school or otherwise for various periods of time between September 2021 and February 2022 when the applicant was unable to attend school due to the lack of school transport or unfit to attend school but was fit to receive education at home;
  3. The Respondent breached Section 6 of the Human Rights Act 1998 for the period of time from September 2020 to June 2022 insofar as there was interference with the applicant’s rights under Article 2 of the First Protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights in conjunction with Article 14 ECHR, as there was interference with the Applicant’s access to education on the basis of her medical condition and she was treated differently to other children in the State because of her disability.
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Universal Periodic Review

10 October 2022

The Children’s Law Centre has worked alongside the Children’s Rights Alliance England, Together Scotland and the Wales UNCRC Monitoring Group to produce a series of thematic briefings to inform the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).

What is the Universal Periodic Review?

Approximately every four years, the UK’s overall human rights progress is assessed under the UPR.

The UPR is a process where the countries that are members of the UN Human Rights Council review the human rights progress of UN member states. The UPR is based on the UN Charter and all the UN human rights treaties that have been ratified the country under review.   

The UK will have its next UPR review in November 2022. Prior to the review, the UK Government submit a full report outlining steps it has taken to progress human rights since the its review. Other countries review this information and can make recommendations on where further improvements could be made. The aim of the UPR is to improve the overall human rights situation in each country and share best practice around the globe.

Civil society organisations can present their own reports as part of the process and CLC has worked closely alongside other children’s rights organisations in England, Scotland and Wales to draft the following briefings to assist in informing the review, in the context of the state of children’s rights in the UK:

General Measures of Implementation

Non-Discrimination and Participation

Child Poverty

Mental Health

Education

Access to Justice

Immigration

Policing and Child Justice System

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Treatment of Asylum Seeking Children is “Cruel, Unnecessary and Avoidable”

20 June 2022

Speaking out on ‘World Refugee Day’ the Children’s Law Centre (CLC) and South Tyrone Empowerment Programme (STEP) have said the treatment of asylum-seeking children and their families in ‘contingency accommodation’ settings is “cruel, unnecessary and avoidable”.

The two organisations had recently published a report highlighting the lived circumstances of asylum-seeking children and their families being accommodated in ‘contingency accommodation’.

The report, jointly submitted upon request to the Council of Europe Advisory Committee on the Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities, highlights a number of potential rights breaches. The report was also endorsed by four other organisations – Conway Education Centre, Participation and Practice of Rights (PPR), Barnardo’s Northern Ireland and South Belfast Sure Start.

Fergal McFerran, Policy and Public Affairs Manager at CLC, said: “We are deeply concerned about the reports coming from residents who are living in ‘contingency accommodation’ settings and the community and voluntary sector organisations providing emergency support to them. The experiences of vulnerable children in particular are very worrying. We believe there are significant children’s rights breaches occurring and urgent, joined-up action is required to prevent these from continuing.

“We have been working alongside a number of organisations to call for action. This must include duty bearers working together urgently to address any rights breaches, and listening to those affected, namely residents, to co-ordinate an effective response.

“Beyond that, the ‘hostile environment’ created by the UK Home Office must end. It is driving refugees and asylum seekers into destitution and ill health, rather than allowing them to contribute positively to society. However, in the meantime, duty bearers cannot hide behind the Home Office and must continue to uphold key rights.”

Bernadette McAliskey, CEO at STEP, added: “The treatment of residents living in ‘contingency accommodation’ settings is cruel, unnecessary and avoidable. Asylum seeking children have rights that must be upheld. Yet, it is deeply worrying to hear reports of new mothers who cannot get access to basic goods and equipment to care for their babies, or families who have had their access to recreational activities severely curtailed. It is also clear that access to education has been severely limited, with no effective overarching strategy evident to address this.

“We will continue to work alongside other organisations to raise these issues and give a voice to asylum-seeking children and their families. We need to see urgent and co-ordinated action to address the failures and uphold the rights of those affected.”

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Empowering Visually Impaired Children and Young People to Access Equal Education

20 May 2021

EqualEyes, a new collaborative project by the charity Angel Eyes NI, in partnership with the Children’s Law Centre, will empower visually impaired children and young people to access equal education, advocate for their rights and influence decision makers.

The project, which will provide expert led workshops to 125 children and young people, as well as their parents and carers, is being funded by The National Lottery Community Fund.

Speaking after the new funding was announced, Sara McCracken, CEO of Angel Eyes, said:

“We are excited about this partnership project bringing together expertise on the impact of visual impairment in education and knowledge of the legislation that protects the rights of children.

“The EqualEyes project will provide expert led support, education and information to ensure children with a visual impairment get the help they need to access the curriculum and give a platform to those with lived experience, so they can influence decisions.”

Children’s Law Centre Director, Paddy Kelly, added:

“The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes the right for every child to freely express their views in all matters affecting them, including education. For this to be meaningful, children and young people must be aware of the rights and resources available to them.

“They must also have the tools and opportunities to influence people making the decisions at all levels, from classroom assistants to politicians.”

The dad of a visually impaired 11 year old boy, Jake, who has been receiving help and support through the charity Angel Eyes said:

“Charities like this have such a positive impact on children and parents struggling to cope. They make such a huge difference to families dealing with the daily challenges placed upon children with sight loss.

“Through the Angel Eyes events I have learnt so much. The information shared by parents and children who face similar challenges has been extremely valuable.

“The stories have been inspirational. Hearing those shared experiences and the issues many visually impaired children face in education, as well as the social interaction, has been very important. “There are so many areas I would have not considered until I spoke to other parents and children through Angel Eyes.”

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