Speech and Language Therapy in SEN Statements Northern Ireland: Part 3 or Part 6?

When your child's Statement of SEN is drafted, one of the most consequential decisions the EA makes is where to record therapy provision. Speech and language therapy, occupational therapy, and sensory support can appear in either Part 3 or Part 6 of the Statement — and the difference is enormous.

Part 3 creates a legally enforceable duty on the EA. Part 6 does not.

Why the Placement Matters So Much

A Statement of SEN has six parts. Parts 1-4 carry legal weight. Parts 5 and 6 do not — they cannot be enforced through the SENDIST tribunal.

• Part 5 describes the child's non-educational needs (health or social care needs that don't directly affect access to education).
• Part 6 describes how those non-educational needs will be met — usually by the Health and Social Care Trust (HSCT).

Here's the trap: if speech and language therapy is placed in Part 6, it means the EA considers it a health need rather than an educational one. The HSCT is then responsible for delivering it. But if the HSCT has a waiting list of 18 months — and in Northern Ireland, that is not uncommon — the EA bears no legal liability. Your child waits.

Placing therapy in Part 3 means the EA must arrange and secure it. If the HSCT can't deliver, the EA must find another way.

The Legal Test: Is the Therapy Educational?

The distinction between educational and non-educational needs is determined by the function the therapy serves, not by who happens to employ the therapist.

In Northern Ireland, speech and language therapists and occupational therapists are typically employed by the HSCT — which is why EAs often argue the therapy belongs in Part 6. But employment by a health trust does not determine where therapy should appear in a Statement.

The legal test is: does the child need this therapy to access the curriculum and participate in school?

If a child cannot follow verbal instructions, cannot communicate with teachers or classmates, or cannot understand classroom activities because of a language disorder — that therapy is educational. It must appear in Part 3.

The Northern Ireland High Court case Re C, McD and McG examined this directly. The court upheld the principle that vague Statements which fail to specify provision appropriate to identified needs do not comply with the law. While the court acknowledged flexibility in highly complex cases, it reaffirmed that parents must be able to determine whether provision is actually being delivered. Therapy placed in Part 6, delivered at the HSCT's convenience, gives parents no such assurance.

What Specific, Quantified Therapy Provision Looks Like

The Northern Ireland Code of Practice states that provision "should normally be specific, detailed and quantified (in terms, for example, of hours of ancillary or specialist teaching support)."

Unacceptable Part 3 wording:

• "Access to speech and language therapy"
• "Opportunities for speech and language support"
• "Regular input from a speech and language therapist"
• "Speech therapy as appropriate"

None of these creates an enforceable duty. The EA can point to a single therapist visit per term and claim compliance.

Acceptable Part 3 wording:

• "Direct speech and language therapy of 45 minutes, once weekly, delivered by a qualified Speech and Language Therapist registered with the Health and Care Professions Council"
• "An SLT programme to be implemented by a classroom assistant who has received direct training from a qualified SLT, for 30 minutes per day, with the SLT reviewing progress and updating the programme termly"

The second example above is important because it allows the actual therapy delivery to be embedded in classroom practice while maintaining the SLT's professional oversight. This is legally valid — and it's also the kind of model the EA may be more willing to agree to when direct SLT hours are difficult to secure.

Occupational Therapy and Sensory Needs

The same logic applies to occupational therapy. If a child with sensory processing difficulties cannot manage a classroom environment, cannot hold a pencil, or is in physical distress during the school day because of sensory overload — OT is an educational need.

For sensory processing difficulties specifically, watch for a pattern where the EA acknowledges the need in Part 2 (the needs section) but places all OT provision in Part 5 and Part 6. If the need is in Part 2, the provision to meet it should normally be in Part 3.

Challenge this explicitly during the 15-day window you have to respond to the Proposed Statement. Write to the EA, referencing the specific need in Part 2, and formally request that the corresponding provision be moved to Part 3 with quantified hours and delivery details.

How to Push Back on the EA's Proposed Placement

When you receive the Proposed Statement, check every piece of therapy provision:

1. Is it in Part 3 or Part 5/6?
2. If it's in Part 5 or 6, does the child need this therapy to access school? If yes, it should be in Part 3.
3. Is the wording quantified — specific hours, specific frequency, qualified professional?
4. Does the Part 2 description of needs justify the Part 3 provision? Every need in Part 2 should have corresponding provision in Part 3.

During the 15-day response window, write formally to the named EA officer. Request a meeting (which you are entitled to). Bring the professional reports — from the SLT, OT, or paediatrician — and ask each report to be specific about what intervention the child needs to access education, at what frequency.

If the EA issues a Final Statement with therapy still in Part 6 and the wording still vague, you have two months from the Final Statement to appeal to SENDIST. SENDIST can direct the EA to amend Part 3 to include specific, quantified provision.

The SLT Position Within the EA's Current Approach

The EA currently relies on Health and Social Care Trusts to deliver most allied health therapies under Service Level Agreements. Because the HSCT controls staffing, and HSCT waiting lists are often severe, the EA's instinct is to put therapy into Part 6 — where the legal risk sits with the health system, not the EA.

This is why the placement of therapy in the Statement is consistently one of the most contested elements. Parents who understand the legal test — educational need, not the identity of the provider — are best placed to challenge it.

The Northern Ireland SEN Statement Blueprint includes guidance on exactly how to frame this challenge in writing, including the specific language the EA uses to justify Part 6 placements and how to counter it effectively.

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