Legislation Relevant to Special Educational Needs

This Act brings in a wide range of measures in relation to special educational needs, details of which can be accessed here.  Some of the measures in this Act have not been introduced as yet.

This legislation covers the Advice and Information Service and resolution of Disputes via the Dispute Avoidance and Resolution Service, as well as ensuring that parents are informed when a school is making special educational provision for a child, making it unlawful for a school to discriminate against a child on disability grounds, and extending the role of the Tribunal to hear Disability Discrimination cases.

This legislation covers admissions to schools and establishes appeals from the Special Educational Needs Tribunal on a point of law.

This is regarded as the primary legislation for special educational needs in Northern Ireland.  It covers the Code of Practice, the duties of schools (and Boards of Governors) for pupils with a Statement, the identification and statutory assessment arrangements and the Special Educational Needs Tribunal.

Provision is made in this legislation for hospital schools.

This order established the Northern Ireland Curriculum, which is to be followed by all registered school pupils, and allowed for modifications to the curriculum for pupils with a Statement of Special Educational Needs.

This Order transferred responsibility of pupils (we now refer to as having profound and severe learning difficulties) from Health to Education