Member

I turn to the particularly pertinent issue of special educational needs. We all know that there is a lot of pressure on special educational needs system in different parts of the United Kingdom. We have seen that particularly in England, where concerns over the appropriateness of the delivery have led parents, in a number of cases in England, to effectively opt out of the state system and send their children privately. As we have seen in different jurisdictions, the pressures that are going to be in the system because of special educational needs are only going to increase. In Northern Ireland, the current Minister has brought forward a SEN transformation programme, and I suspect that the Government will be under constant pressure to reform whatever provisions are made in terms of SEN. With that in mind, not simply in the light of the current attainment gap but in terms of where we are going to end in terms of proposals, it is critical that any actions are grounded on the basis of what can actually help to improve attainment for SEN pupils. The focus that this amendment would put forward is therefore very important.