Education Authority adds 1,300 SEN places at Northern Irish schools

The Education Authority has announced it has delivered more than 1,300 additional places for children with special educational needs (SEN) in Northern Ireland for the 2025-26 school. 

News comes as the education body urges that all Northern Irish schools must play a role in supporting children with SEN.  

The authority has created 1,374 new SEN places, including 29 classes in special schools and 128 specialist provision classes in mainstream schools. However, as of today (28 August), six children still await placement and may not have confirmed provision at the start of term.

Among the newly created spaces, up to 100 pupils across 23 schools may be unable to attend full time initially due to ongoing construction works. The Education Authority said it was working closely with schools to ensure access to education, including bespoke arrangements such as stay-and-play sessions, phased timetables, and structured home visits by qualified staff.

According to the Education Authority, a sustained effort had enabled the creation of the additional places despite a projected shortfall of 164 places just two months ago. However, it has warned that a broader change is needed. 

Richard Pengelly, chief executive of the Education Authority, said: “We have to move away from the annual cycle of potential shortfalls in places and create more certainty for children, their families and schools.

“That will have to involve working towards a position where all schools are involved in providing specialist provision – where SEN teaching is mainstreamed in every sense of the word.”

Pengelly said this could happen alongside continued investment in special schools, but stressed that demand would increase again next year, requiring more inclusive provision in mainstream settings. Currently, only 26% of mainstream schools in Northern Ireland offer specialist provision.

Responding to the announcement, the National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) in Northern Ireland welcomed the additional places but strongly rejected any implication that schools needed to be encouraged to support pupils with SEN.

Dr Graham Gault, national secretary of NAHT Northern Ireland, said: “We take strong exception to any suggestion that school leaders and their staff require motivation to support children with special educational needs.”

Joanne Whyte, the union’s president, added: “The implication that schools need to be inspired or encouraged to do what they have always done undermines the incredible work happening in classrooms across Northern Ireland every day.”

NAHT said the biggest barrier to expanding provision was not a lack of will from school leaders but chronic underfunding and systemic constraints. Figures from the Department of Education show that the number of children attending special schools has risen by around 25% since 2017-18.

In a further move to improve support, the Education Authority will launch 28 Local IMPACT Teams across Northern Ireland from September 2025. These teams will provide localised, early-intervention support across areas including autism, communication, literacy, and behavioural needs.