Joint Health & Education Review of Nursing Provision in Special Schools in Northern Ireland

Background

Children with complex healthcare needs attending Special Schools across Northern Ireland have their needs met in a variety of different ways.

To better understand and strengthen service provision, the Chief Nursing Officer commissioned the Public Health Agency (PHA) to undertake a review. The resulting report sets out a number of recommendations to improve support for these children and young people.

• PHA Review Report

The Education Minister Paul Givan and former Health Minister Mike Nesbitt have committed to developing a regional model of care to ensure all children attending Special Schools can safely access the curriculum and learning opportunities.

The Team

A joint working group has been established to develop a new regional model for implementation by September 2027. The group brings together representatives from the Departments of Education and Health, the Education Authority, Health and Social Care (HSC) organisations and service users to ensure the model is developed collaboratively and reflects a broad range of perspectives and expertise.

Key Developments

• During May and June, we engaged with pupils, parents/carers and school staff through visits to five Special Schools across Northern Ireland and through online surveys. These visits included discussions with school leaders, classroom observations, and engagement sessions with parents/carers and staff. We were grateful for the opportunity to meet children and young people, witness the dedication of school staff, and hear first-hand about their experiences. The insights gathered have made a valuable contribution to the development of this work.
• In August, we held engagement events with representatives from all five Health and Social Care Trusts. These sessions provided an opportunity to hear from a range of nursing teams supporting Special Schools, to better understand current service delivery, and to identify opportunities to strengthen and enhance care provision for children and young people with complex healthcare needs.
• An academic review has been commissioned to examine how similar services are delivered in other jurisdictions across Ireland and the United Kingdom. The findings will help inform the development of future arrangements in Northern Ireland.
• A programme of data analysis is also underway to ensure the regional model is informed by robust evidence, service demand, and the needs of children and young people across Northern Ireland.
• Cross-sector collaboration continues through regular meetings of the joint working group, bringing together partners from across education and health to progress the development of the regional model.

Engagement Events

We intend to share emerging proposals and initial thinking at a series of wider stakeholder engagement events in the autumn. Further details will be provided in due course.