Special educational needs: Family in limbo as classroom not ready

Ms Scott said they spent the summer talking to Frankie about starting school alongside his sister, who is now in P3.

“When his sister is leaving for school in the morning, you can tell he’s confused – he misses her terribly,” she said.

Ms Scott said she was “extremely disappointed” by the situation.

“We still don’t know when he’s going to start,” she said.

“So we’re frustrated and pretty angry with the Education Authority around how they’ve handled it.”

The EA told BBC News NI it remained “firmly committed to meeting the individual needs of children and young people with special educational needs” and was establishing more than 1,450 “new and additional” SEN places.

“There have been significant efforts made by all colleagues across the education sector to provide additional appropriate places, reflective of pupils’ needs,” a spokesperson said.

“Due to the level of works ongoing across the education estate, some works will complete after September 2024 to ensure a bespoke learning environment based on the needs of each school community.”

There has been a 50% rise in the number of children with a statement of SEN over the past five years and a 25% increase in pupils in special schools.