Parents of children with special and complex needs have spoken of their continued frustration over a lack of communication from the Education Authority as their kids are still without nursery and primary school places.
Last week parents of children with complex needs were told following an emergency meeting at Stormont that they would be contacted by the Education Authority regarding their children's future education after hundreds had still not heard whether or not they would have a place in school or nursery.
Despite this, many parents heard nothing from the EA and say that they are still "left in the dark" regarding their children's future and have complained about a lack of communication.
Read more: Parents' frustration over 'lack of communication' from Education Authority on school places
Speaking to Belfast Live, parents have said that they have repeatedly contacted the EA to find out what is happening with their children and have been told time and again that they would be updated within the week, only for this to never take place.
Some parents have said that they have been asked to delay sending their children to primary one, while others have said they were told they had a place verbally only for it not to be guaranteed. Other parents have said that they were told that the EA was exploring places for their children that they allegedly knew would not exist next year.
Marisa McClean has been trying to get a place for her son Jase for months, but he is currently without a place next year and she fears this could have a huge impact on his development.
She said: "For months I have been contacting the EA trying to find out where Jase would be going to nursery next year only to be told that I would be finding out within a week. But then after a week I am still left in the dark and trying to ring the same people for answers.
"This is causing a huge amount of stress for us as a family because we want to prepare him for the year ahead, and after making such progress through Mencap we are very worried that if he is unable to get a place in a suitable nursery all of his hard work will have been for nothing.
"There have been hundreds of families stuck in this position this year and it is horrendous that we cannot even get someone to tell us what is happening with our children instead of being delayed time and time again."
Amy Kane said that her son has been told that there are currently no places in primary school next year for him and that she has been asked to delay him starting education for one year.
She said: "We have been trying for months to get my son a place in school for next year and we have been told time and time again that something would be sorted only to be let down again.
"Last week we had been waiting for an update and heard nothing and it was only on Monday morning that we got a call asking if we could delay him starting school for a year, which I did not think was appropriate.
"This whole process has been so frustrating and I feel like I must have contacted the EA four times a week for months to find out about his future only to be put off again and again.
"Our plan was to use the summer months in order to get him used to his new routine and the route to school, but now we are going to be spending the summer holidays finding out where he is going to be going and it will be much tougher for us to get him settled when we do get one.
"All we have been asking from the EA is to keep us updated about what is happening with our children, but even that has not been happening."
Mandie Nickels said that she has been waiting for a place for her daughter in September last year and believes that the current system is "not fit for purpose" due to the number of parents having problems.
She said: "My daughter begun the process of getting a statement last year but yet we are still to be assigned a school, despite others in her age group who received their statement after her getting a place.
"I have been constantly told that we would be getting an update on where she is meant to be going but we keep hitting a brick wall when trying to find out.
"The Education Authority should be well aware of her children's needs but it seems that a lot of parents are struggling to get their children's education sorted and that the EA hasn't even been aware of what places were actually available for them.
"I had been told that they were checking with certain schools that we had applied for, only to discover that they would not be having a nursery next year due to having extra children in primary one and I can't understand why they would lead us along like that instead of being open with us about what places are available."
The Education Authority has been contacted for comment.
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