Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (Northern Ireland) 2016

Co-operation to identify, assess, and provide services to, children with special educational needs

4.  Before Article 13 of the 1996 Order (but after the cross-heading immediately before it) insert—

“12A.    Co-operation between the Authority and health and social services authorities

(1) In the exercise of their respective functions in accordance with the Children’s Services Co-operation Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 (“the 2015 Act”), the Authority and a health and social services authority (“the relevant bodies”) must in particular co-operate—

(a) in the identification and assessment of children who have, or may have, special educational needs;

(b) in providing to children with special educational needs the services which those special educational needs call for; and

(c) in the preparation of a transition plan as defined by regulation 2 of the Education (Special Educational Needs) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2005.

(2) In particular, the relevant bodies must in so exercising those functions—

(a) share on request information about a child who has, or may have, special educational needs (but only with the permission of the child, if the child is over compulsory school age, or the parent of the child in any other case); and

(b) prepare a joint plan for the exercise of those functions.

(3) A joint inspection team must, at intervals of not more than 3 years, conduct a review, and publish a report, on how the relevant bodies have co-operated with one another in relation to the matters mentioned in paragraphs (1) and (2).

(4) In this Article—

“health and social services authority” means—

(a)

the Regional Health and Social Care Board; or

(b)

a health and social care trust established under Article 10 of the Health and Personal Social Services (Northern Ireland) Order 1991;

“joint inspection team” means a group of persons consisting of—

(a)

inspectors appointed by the Department under Article 102 of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1986; and

(b)

persons appointed by the Health and Social Care Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority.”.