Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, what discussions she has had with the Northern Ireland Executive on supporting the operation of specialist SEN provision classes for schools across Northern Ireland.

Education is a devolved matter and England and Northern Ireland have different systems for supporting children and young people with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND).

Officials in the department engage regularly with counterparts in the Northern Ireland Executive through established networks, including the European Agency for Special Needs and Inclusive Education. Recent discussions have focused on comparing approaches to special educational needs provision attached to mainstream schools and improving access to the specialist workforce in mainstream schools.