Alliance Education spokesperson Michelle Guy MLA has stated that the Education and Health Ministers have "a lot to answer for" following the brief cancellation of Special Educational Needs (SEN) summer schemes.

The Lagan Valley MLA made the comments ahead of an Assembly recall motion scheduled for tomorrow, 31st March. Tabled by the Alliance Party, the motion seeks to question the Ministers on the decision-making process that saw the schemes cancelled, only for the decision to be reversed 24 hours later.

Ms Guy described the situation as "utterly appalling," noting that the distress caused to families was significant. She argued that the issue of nursing provision within SEN schools is a long-standing matter that both Ministers were already aware of. According to the MLA, the timing of the initial announcement, just before the Easter recess, appeared to be an attempt to avoid scrutiny.

The recall aims to provide a platform for the frustrations of parents and schools, while demanding a long-term, collaborative solution between the Department of Education and the Department of Health to ensure such a situation is not repeated. Ms Guy said: "The decision endorsed by both the Education and Health Ministers to cancel SEN summer schemes across Northern Ireland, to only reverse that decision 24 hours later after having caused such wide distress, is utterly appalling. SEN families are owed an apology for this debacle. Yet again, they are having the rug pulled from beneath them. The issue of nursing provision in SEN schools is not new. The Ministers have long been aware of this situation, and any suggestion otherwise is completely misleading.

"There is a lot to answer for. This recall is about holding both Ministers accountable for a harmful decision that was clearly unnecessary. It should have been a priority to work together to resolve this issue, instead they sat on their hands and did nothing, attempting to avoid scrutiny by announcing it just before the Easter recess. Tomorrow, we aim to give voice to the frustration felt by parents and schools, and to ensure that a situation like this is never repeated. The conversation around SEN support and nursing provision in schools cannot end there. The Education and Health Ministers must work collaboratively to deliver long-term solutions and provide the consistent, meaningful support that SEN children and their families both need and deserve."