Summary
The Department held a 22 week public consultation on the new draft Special Educational Needs (SEN) Code of Practice from 30 September 2020 until 2 March 2021.
Documents
- Summary Report of Responses to Consultation draft SEN Code of Practice
- Privacy Notice for DE Consultations on new SEN Regulations and the new SEN Code of Practice
- Consultation Document on SEN Code of Practice
- The draft Code - Section 1 - Introduction
- The draft Code - Section 2 - The Law, Roles, Rights and Responsibilities
- The draft Code - Section 3 - Identification, Assessment and Provision by Schools
- The draft Code - Section 4 - Statutory Assessment
- The draft Code - Section 5 - Making and Maintaining a Statement
- The draft Code - Section 6 - Children Under Compulsory School Age - Services, Assessments and Statements
- The draft Code - Section 7 - Annual Review of a Statement
- The draft Code - Section 8 - Transition Planning for a Child with a Statement
- The draft Code - Section 9 - Co-operation between Education and Health
- The draft Code - Section 10 - Children in Specific Circumstances
- The draft Code - Section 11 - Advice and Information
- The draft Code - Section 12 - Disagreements, Appeals, Mediation and Tribunals
- The draft Code - Section 13 - Children over Compulsory School Age
- The draft Code - Section 14 - Inclusion of Children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) and or a Disability
- The draft Code - Annexes
- The draft Code - GLOSSARY
- Summary Guide - SEN Code of Practice for Parents and Young People
- EASY READ - New SEN Code of Practice
- PLP Descriptors (explanation of data fields on PLP)
- EXAMPLE PERSONAL LEARNING PLAN (NURSERY)
- EXAMPLE PERSONAL LEARNING PLAN (PRIMARY)
- EXAMPLE PERSONAL LEARNING PLAN (POST PRIMARY)
- EXAMPLE PERSONAL LEARNING PLAN (SPECIAL SCHOOL)
- Equality and Human Rights Policy Screening - SEN Framework 2020
- Rural Needs Impact Assessment - SEN Framework 2020
- Data Protection Impact Assessment for ~ SEN Framework including PLP
Consultation description
The consultation was managed through the NI Direct Citizen Space online portal however respondents were also permitted to reply by other means. There were 212 responses received on the new draft SEN Code consultation: 178 via Citizen Space and 34 via email.
The public consultation was complemented by a targeted approach to secure more in-depth feedback on some of the specific changes that are being proposed from those who will be most affected by them, that is, children and young people with SEN and parents/carers.
The Department has fully considered all of the responses received and has taken care to understand and reflect the range of perspectives that respondents provided.
The Department wishes to thank all those who responded to the consultations and to those that took the time to meet with officials as part of the consultation process
The summary report of the responses to the draft SEN Code of Practice consultation includes the views expressed as part of the targeted consultations. The report provides a summary of the findings and does not list all individual comments received.
The Department has been working to develop a new improved and more responsive SEN Framework. The new SEN Framework is made up 3 elements:
- The Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 (the 2016 Act).
- New SEN Regulations.
- A new SEN Code of Practice.
This consultation is on the new Code of Practice which translates the new draft SEN law into clear and practical guidance for those involved in identifying and assessing children who have, or may have, SEN and for those who provide special educational provision for children with SEN. The new draft Regulations are subject to a separate consultation.
We encourage you to submit your views via the green Respond Online button below.
If you are unable to complete the questionnaire via this link a copy of the questions is available as an annex in the consultation document above. If you would like an electronic version of the questions to complete and return by email then please contact us. Copies in other formats, including Braille, large print, etc may be made available on request. Please contact us if you need copies in an alternative format or a language other than English, and we will do our best to assist you.
Please note that we may publish all responses except for those where the respondent indicates that they are an individual acting in a private capacity (e.g. a member of the public). All responses from organisations and individuals responding in a professional capacity will be published. We will remove email addresses and telephone numbers from these responses; but apart from this, we will publish them in full.
What Happens Next
The responses to this consultation will be analysed and a summary report of responses received will be made available on the Department’s website in due course.
Ways to respond
Consultation closed — responses are no longer being accepted.