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SEN students face 'abyss' when they leave school

Robbie Meredith
BBC NI education and arts correspondent
BBC A blonde woman wearing a black top is smiling at the camera, beside her is her daughter Ellie who has dark hair and is sitting in a wheelchairBBC
Tracey Henry's 22-year-old daughter Ellie has a number of complex needs

Tracey Henry has said her 22-year-old daughter Ellie "doesn't have a voice anymore" since leaving school.

Ellie has special educational needs (SEN) and uses a wheelchair, but her mother said that the support for her daughter, and her quality of life, has decreased since leaving her special school.

Her mum said: "As soon as she left school, there's no opportunity to do anything else, unless we do the things for her."

Education Minister Paul Givan who attended a gathering of parents, pupils with SEN and principals in Stormont's great hall on Wednesday said he was supportive, but change would require work across the departments of education, economy, health and communities.

A woman with dark hair, a pearl necklace and blue dress is smiling at the camera. Behind her is a room full of people
Ema Cubitt said there was a gap in provision for young people

The independent autism reviewer for Northern Ireland, Ema Cubitt, said young people like Ellie faced an "abyss" at the age of 19 when they leave school.

"When you look across the lifetime of an autistic person or a person with learning disabilities, this is the first real gap in provision that there is," she said.

"When we face such an abyss, such a cliff edge it says to them they don't have a place in society and that's where it needs to change."

Tracey, Ellie and Ema Cubitt went to Stormont to call for that change.

In England, an Education, Health and Care plan (EHCP) outlines a young person's special educational needs up to the age of 25.

It is a legal document, which also describes the additional support they need in education or training, and the outcomes they would like to achieve.

But in Northern Ireland, no such plan is in place which can leave young people and their families without a pathway or the support needed for further education and employment.

Tracy said: "Ellie has changed completely since leaving school, she's lost a lot of the ability for communicating with people, and her confidence and stuff."

Our children 'want to be included'

Caleb standing next to his mother, Alma White, as they pose for a photo. Caleb is a teenager with short, fair hair and blue eyes. He is wearing a blue hooded top. Alma has shoulder-length ginger hair with a fringe. She is wearing a bright green coat over a black top with a patterned collar.
Alma White said her son Caleb's face "lit up" when he was invited to a birthday party

Alma White, whose son Caleb is autistic, has been leading the campaign for change.

She told BBC Radio Ulster's Good Morning Ulster programme that young people like her teenage son "want to be included" in society and need opportunities to spend time with people their own age.

"Caleb may not be able to speak much, but when he was invited to a birthday party - and it was one of the first times he's ever gone to one - and he didn't say a word to anyone, but his face just lit up," she said.

"And he loved being in the company of other people."

Ms White said she has been contacted by families who are "in despair" over the lack of opportunities for their children when they reach 19.

Her campaign Facebook page - Caleb's Cause - now has 1,600 followers.

"Everyday I get new parents joining and they come to me and they just saying: 'We're terrified'," she said.

'Preparing children for the workplace'

A woman with fair hair and a light coat smiles at the camera, behind her is a room full of people
Dr Joanne Atkinson is the principal at Beechlawn School in County Down

Dr Joanne Atkinson, the principal of Beechlawn School in County Down, said she is also worried about how some of her school leavers will cope in the future.

Beechlawn is a post-primary school for pupils with moderate learning difficulties with additional special educational needs.

"Sometimes when they go out they don't get the support that they've had in school," she said.

"The life skills are a huge emphasis in our school in particular, for preparing children for the workplace.

"Quite often you have lots of children who are capable of going on to work and going on to further education.

"But you've others with special needs who still need that intimate care and still need to have people looking after them."

She said things needed to change adding: "Parents deserve the change.

"There are lots of children who leave, and they're just left because there's nothing else there for them when they leave school," she said.

"They're left to their parents to look after again."

Tracey Henry said that young people like Ellie were being failed.

"We had one day in a day centre, we now have three days in a day centre, but there's a big difference between what she did in school where she was active, she was happy, she did lots and lots of different activities," she said.

"In a day centre, they do very limited things because they don't have the staffing and they don't have the opportunities.

"They need to bring in legislation similar to what they have in the UK to allow children like Ellie the right to do activities, the right to have their own life."

'A human rights failure'

Former Economy Minister Conor Murphy has acknowledged that young people with special educational needs (SEN) faced "injustice" when they left school.

But introducing a plan for them, similar to that in place in England, would need new laws.

Ms Cubitt, whose role involves assessing the adequacy of services to autistic people, wants action.

"These children have a right to education, they have a right to life-long learning, we have a place in society, they have the same rights as us all to work," she said.

"It's a human rights failure. We can't let it go on any longer."