EA sets out facts on classroom support plans

The CLC letter related to the ongoing public consultation on enhancing classroom support. These reforms will give schools more flexibility to tailor support to the individual needs of young people.

EA regrets if the misleading narrative put into the public domain has caused any anxiety to SEN pupils or their families. This could have been avoided had CLC engaged with us before publishing their letter. 

The CLC letter claimed the changes would involve the delegation of Education Authority legal duties to schools.

EA's rebuttal states: “This is factually incorrect. EA is not delegating any legal duties to schools that belong to EA.

"EA’s Enhanced Support Model does not change the requirements, processes or procedures relating to the statutory assessment process. It does not change the rights of children and young people to receive a statement or the rights when they have a statement. It does not change the process around appeals to tribunal.

"The requirement in legislation is to provide a statement that specifies and quantifies the support that should be available to the child, and to provide the placement of the child. The Enhanced Support Model does not change this, and statements will continue to specify and quantify support for the child or young person.

"EA’s Enhanced Support Model seeks to improve outcomes for children and young people by identifying individual needs and ensuring timely access to the right mix of support, delivered by a skilled and confident workforce.”

The EA rebuttal also refutes claims on the timescale for introduction of the classroom support reforms.

It states: 

“The reforms will be introduced in phases over a number of years, beginning this September with schools that are already adopting innovative approaches to classroom support. Implementation will be developed over the following years, informed by feedback from schools and families. Any suggestion that the reforms will be fully implemented by September 2026 is both incorrect and misleading."