Over the past five years, Northern Ireland’s special schools have faced an unprecedented surge in demand, with pupil numbers rising by more than 1,000—a 17% increase that has left educators, families, and policymakers scrambling to keep up. According to figures released by the Department of Education (DE) and reported by BBC News NI, the number of pupils attending the region’s 40 special schools jumped from 6,403 in the 2020/21 school year to 7,462 in 2024/25. This dramatic rise has exposed significant cracks in the system, prompting urgent calls for reform, investment, and a rethink of how children with Special Educational Needs (SEN) are supported from childhood into adulthood.
Despite the clear and growing need, only a single new special school—the Deanby centre in north Belfast, accommodating 69 pupils—has opened in the last five years. The Education Authority (EA) has stated bluntly that an additional 6,000 places are still needed to meet current demand. Repeated delays in providing school places for children with SEN have only compounded the problem, forcing the EA to create specialist provision classes in mainstream schools as a stopgap measure. But as the numbers continue to climb, the question looms: how much longer can the system stretch before it snaps?
Education Minister Paul Givan has not minced words about the scale of the challenge. He told the BBC, “About £1.7 billion of capital funding for special educational needs is required, as special schools have reached capacity.” The funding shortfall has left schools struggling to maintain the quality of care and education that families have come to expect—and desperately need.
The situation is perhaps most vividly illustrated at Park School in Belfast, where the number of pupils has soared from 125 to 183 in just five years. In June, the school’s pupils won a UK-wide award for their film-making abilities, a testament to the talent and creativity that flourishes within its walls. Yet behind the accolades lies a daily struggle to make space, manage workloads, and meet the needs of every child.
Principal Bernie Davis described the reality in stark terms to BBC News NI: “This increase is a testament to the strong confidence in the teaching, care, and outcomes delivered by the school. However, class sizes are now at or beyond recommended limits. Specialist space such as changing rooms and shower facilities have been repurposed as classrooms, and staff rooms are increasingly used for teaching, reducing essential space for staff wellbeing and collaboration. The rise in pupil numbers has also placed considerable pressure on staffing, workload and resources.” Davis added that funding has “not consistently kept pace with this growth,” warning, “The strain is beginning to impact the quality of provision and pupil wellbeing, as space, time and adult support become increasingly stretched.”
These challenges are not unique to Park School. Across Northern Ireland, special schools are grappling with the same issues: overcrowded classrooms, overstretched staff, and a chronic lack of resources. The situation has left many parents worried about the future—not just for their children’s education, but for their long-term prospects as they transition to adulthood.
Alma White is one such parent. Motivated by her experiences with her autistic son Caleb, who is due to leave his special school in just over a year, she launched a campaign called Caleb’s Cause. Her goal: to push the executive to improve support for the increasing number of school leavers with SEN. White’s concerns are echoed by many families facing the daunting prospect of what comes next once their children age out of the school system.
“I am very concerned about the ability to provide any provision when these young children transition to adulthood,” White told BBC News NI. “Early intervention is vital but what happens when these children grow up, which they will? If school places are hard to find and there is an inability to cater for rising numbers it begs the question what happens at 19? Where do all these young people go?”
The answer, for many, is far from reassuring. White explained that many young people with SEN require one-to-one support to access day opportunities, but day centres are often full to capacity. “Young people only receive two or three days if they are fortunate enough to do so,” she said. The lack of specialist colleges—unlike elsewhere in the UK—means that further education is “often not an option due to the level of support needed.”
White is also critical of the legislative framework governing special education, calling it “outdated and in need of amendment.” She argues, “Without new laws in place departments will not collaborate to the extent needed, provision will not be available and once again our young people will continue to fall between the cracks.”
The EA’s creation of specialist provision classes in mainstream schools has provided some relief, but it is widely seen as a temporary fix rather than a long-term solution. While mainstream integration can offer valuable opportunities for some children, it cannot fully replace the tailored support and resources available in dedicated special schools—especially when those schools are already bursting at the seams.
For educators and administrators, the pressure is mounting. Staff are being asked to do more with less, repurposing every available space for teaching and sacrificing their own wellbeing in the process. The impact on morale and retention is a growing concern, as is the risk that the quality of education and care will decline if the situation does not improve.
Families, meanwhile, are left navigating a system that often feels unresponsive and ill-equipped to meet their children’s needs. The lack of specialist colleges and appropriate day opportunities after school leaves many young adults with SEN facing a future of uncertainty, limited choices, and inadequate support. For some, the journey from childhood to adulthood is marked by hope and achievement; for others, it is a passage fraught with anxiety and frustration.
Policymakers are under increasing pressure to act, but the scale of investment required is daunting—especially in an era of tight public finances. Yet as Education Minister Givan’s comments make clear, the cost of inaction may be even higher, both in human and economic terms. Without a significant injection of funding and a comprehensive overhaul of the system, Northern Ireland risks leaving a generation of vulnerable young people behind.
As the debate continues, one thing is clear: the rising tide of need in Northern Ireland’s special schools cannot be ignored. The choices made today will shape the lives of thousands of children and their families for years to come. For the educators on the front lines, the parents fighting for their children’s futures, and the young people themselves, the stakes could hardly be higher.
