Ms Patricia Griffin:

That is happening more at second level than at primary level. Most of our children at primary level are going into mainstream primary schools but at second level there is still a tendency for many of our members to put their children into special second level schools. There is also another issue in that the special educational needs organisers, SENOs, are becoming very aware of how difficult it is for parents to find second level places for their children. This is a significant difficulty, particularly in urban areas. I do not agree with this finding in the report but the special educational needs organisers are beginning to suggest that schools, when requested by the SENO, should be prepared to set up a special class in their schools for children with intellectual disability. In my view that is segregation. I had experience of this policy in one school, which was in receipt of a lot of money, and I was horrified to see what was being planned. One of the proposals was that the children's lunch break would be at a different time to the rest of the school. We have to be very careful and be aware that just because a proposal is recommended by the NCSE does not mean it is right.