Ms Andrea Feeney:

The scheme has moved on since that time, with the reforms in 2016 and 2017. It is no longer based on a diagnosis of dyslexia. It is based on learning difficulties, the identification in the school of a particular need and the provision of supports and learning interventions. The scheme has developed massively since the 2008 advisory report. We are accommodating many more students under the scheme. Reform happened in 2016 and 2017. A significant change was made that had real repercussions throughout the system when decision-making was effectively devolved to schools, working in collaboration with the SEC. In 2016, the year before the change was introduced, we had 3,000 refusals of applications for reasonable accommodation. The change in the direction of the scheme came in from the 2016-17 school year, and schools were making those decisions. In 2023, we refused 93 applications. We have simplified engagement with the scheme and the access arrangements for the scheme. We are accommodating many more students within the scheme. In my view, notwithstanding the fact that additional time is not there, and that is something we need to look at and are looking at within the review of the scheme, it is a far better scheme than it was when the advisory group made its report in 2008.