To ask the Minister of Education to detail how many children starting in primary one had speech and language difficulties requiring specific educational support, broken down for each year since 2006.

A significant number of children identified by school staff as having speech and language related difficulties on entering primary one will have their needs met as a result of relevant and purposeful measures put in place by schools at Stages 1 and 2 of the Code of Practice. The Education Authority (EA) does not hold this information centrally, as the recording of these pupils is the responsibility of the school concerned.

Children may have been identified and supported by other EA Services or by Health and Social Care Trusts prior to, or at the point of starting primary one. As engagement with these services is based on need and may only be for specified or short periods of time, the overall situation is a fluid one.