Education Minister, John O'Dowd, has turned down a development proposal relating to the existing St Vincent's Centre, Belfast.

The development proposal had proposed the closure of the existing unit and the opening of an 11-16 maintained special school on the St Vincent’s site.

Commenting on his decision, Mr O'Dowd said: "I take my statutory duties in relation to special education very seriously. All children have individual abilities and talents which need to be encouraged and developed. Current thinking suggests that units such as St Vincent’s should be linked, as far as possible, to a mainstream school and the local community.

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"It is my belief that as a stand alone school St Vincent’s would offer less opportunity to re-integrate pupils into a mainstream setting. It would be contrary to my Department’s policy on inclusion and would limit pupils’ opportunities to access the full statutory curriculum.

"This proposal also does not support strategic planning for this area, particularly in view of similar existing provision in the immediate area. I would therefore envisage that appropriate special education provision, which meets the needs of the young people in this area, will be addressed through area planning."

(CD)