Special Educational Needs in Northern Ireland

Provision for special educational needs (SEN) in Northern Ireland has a lot of similarities to the system in England , but with different laws and different bodies overseeing and providing the support. Be sure to read the section about SEN provision in England as some of it applies to Northern Ireland as well . The law dealing with Special Education in Northern Ireland is contained in the The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1996 as amended by The Special Educational Needs and Disability (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (SENDO).  

The Department for Education Northern Ireland (DENI) is the Governmental body responsible for education in Northern Ireland .

There are five Education and Library Boards (ELBs) who are responsible for providing Education for the children within their jurisdiction.They perform a similar role to an LEA in England .

Each ELB has its own special education needs policy, which will have local perspective. They must however have regard to The Code of Practice for the Identification and Assessment of Special Educational Needs, DENI.

The assessment and statementing process is very similar to that in England , so please read the section about SEN provision in England to find out more. There is an SEN Tribunal in Northern Ireland which works in very much the same way as SENDIST in England. Read more about the tribunal here.