I have been contacted by special schools in my constituency that have said that they have not been given their staffing allocations for next year. It is 28 May. It is very late. My understanding is that mainstream schools got their allocations in March and, on that basis, are able to plan for things like classroom allocation and supports. However, special schools do not know at this late stage when it is coming into the trips and all those things that go on in June and they will be very busy. They have not had time to do staffing allocations, so they cannot do timetables or classroom allocations. They are wondering what the delay is. I am aware that one in school in particular did not get its allocation until September last year. That is wholly unacceptable. There is also a knock-on effect for staff. If people do not know whether they are going to have their jobs come September, that is really unfair. Relationships and building relationships with young people, particularly in special schools, is important and we need to make sure that if any staff are to be reallocated elsewhere, it happens in a timely manner so that that relationship can be brought to an end and new ones brought in for the next year. What is the delay and when will they know?

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