All of Mr Paul Givan’s imported questions, contributions and motions in this mandate, newest first, including those assessed as not flagged, uncertain or not yet analysed.
I thank the Member for his comments. He campaigned on issues concerning a particular bus route in his constituency, which we have now been able to resolve satisfactorily. When it comes to working on those particular issues, as I said to previous contributors, we are represented on the Department for Infrastructure-led…
It is a concern that we can all reflect on in our constituencies. Parents will want buses to pick up their children at the most convenient location, but there is also a tension, because providers, be they private bus operators or Translink, need to make sure that their buses access and stop at locations that are as…
When I met Minister Kimmins about that issue a week ago today, we discussed a range of issues to do with the safety of children and young people when they are accessing public transport and stepping off buses, as well as what measures we might take to provide more information. For example, how can we provide better…
Ensuring the safety of pupils travelling to and from school is paramount. Recently, I met the Minister for Infrastructure and representatives from the Education Authority to discuss collaborative measures to improve bus safety. We reviewed the current safety measures on school buses, such as special lighting that…
The Member has outlined issues that I am happy to come back to him on in correspondence. I think that the last point was to do with the standardisation process in nurseries. By that, I assume that he meant converting to full-time hours. Forgive me if I have misunderstood what he was trying to ask. The process around…
The Member rightly raises the issue of the statementing process, which is often about carrying out the necessary assessments so that we can identify the needs. I have made it clear that we need to move away from a legalistic statementing process, because teachers can often identify that a young person or child,…
I made a transformational statement about special educational needs in the Assembly in January of this year. I quickly followed that up by publishing the special educational needs reform agenda, and I followed up on that with a five-year delivery plan in February 2025, outlining the measures that we need to take to…
Fundamentally, the Department of Health needs to ensure that appropriate health professionals are available. The particular interest is around making sure that allied health professionals are available to help to meet the need. Knockevin and other special schools have made the case — I agree with them — that there…
That was the basis of a meeting that I also held with the Chairman of the Education Committee, Mr Mathison, at which the case was made forcefully by principals in attendance about the need for medical professionals to be in their facilities. There was a period in which those services were withdrawn. The outworking of…
I met the Minister of Health, Mr Nesbitt, in November 2024, and we discussed nursing provision in special schools. I await the outcome of the Public Health Agency review of health needs facing children in special schools. Of course, my officials continue to work closely with colleagues in the Department of Health and…
Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the motion, which, rightly, brings the issue of the use of restrictive practices in educational settings into sharp focus. The motion asks us to address a deeply sensitive but complex matter, which touches on the rights, dignity and…
The intercultural education service is one area with which we have been engaging, but there are also emotional well-being services to consider. We will engage with the principals of some of the schools that have been impacted on, and if support is needed in those two areas or, indeed, in others, we will make sure that…
There is a recording of absenteeism that occurred as a result of what happened last week. I have the precise figures for the schools in the Ballymena area. For example, 84 newcomer children in Harryville Primary School have not been at school. The figures for St Patrick’s College show that attendance levels are…
The impact is already being felt. I have heard that directly from parents who have expressed their appreciation at the fact that the scheme is available, but we have much more work to take forward on it. People had called for a comprehensive early learning and childcare strategy. We are rightly taking one forward. I…
We have been able to take forward the childcare subsidy scheme. The 15% subsidy, which links with the UK tax-free allowance, has drawn in around £18 million since we started the scheme. It has reached 16,000 children. That is how many have been registered. We have been able to expand the scheme because of the funding…
I agree with the Chair of the Committee, Mr Mathison, on the issue. We have provided hundreds of additional places, but that does not diminish the fact that, as we stand here, there are still several hundred children without a place who need to be provided with one. We were able to do this last year: the system…
Where we have identified a particular need, I have personally engaged with schools. About 300 children, we believe — the figure changes as we bring more settings online — need provision in September. When I spoke in the Assembly on the issue this time last year, about 450 children needed placements. We set about a…
When Mr McNulty raised the issue with me, my officials engaged with the Education Authority, and, absolutely, I am sympathetic to the position of Tiny Tots. However, the Department of Education does not provide financial support in that situation. The Education Authority is there to provide assistance, and I encourage…
When Mr McNulty addressed the issue at Question Time, I said that the Department of Education did not have statutory responsibility for provision in that kind of situation. Where there are financial difficulties in preschool settings, the Education Authority can avail itself of emergency funds. I very much encourage…
As I have gone round schools — controlled schools, Catholic maintained schools, integrated schools — I have been hugely impressed to see the many newcomers in school settings and the work that the school leaders and teachers do to ensure that there is an inclusive environment in which diversity is respected and,…
I absolutely share the sentiments expressed by the Member. It is outrageous that, over the past week, we have been dealing with children who have come into school traumatised, showing all the signs of trauma as a result of what has happened on our streets. Alarmingly, we have also been dealing with children who…
The time that it takes for assessments to be carried out is unacceptably long. That is why we have invested in getting more people into the workforce through the doctorate scheme for which we have provided support. That is also why I made an application to the transformation programme around SEN reform and a delivery…
My Department has invested in the educational psychology work force and is currently funding 40 places on the doctorate in educational child and adolescent psychology course at Queen's University Belfast. Fourteen of those students will graduate this year and join the staffing complement in the Education Authority's…
I share the frustration that the Member has highlighted. A setting in my constituency — the former Ravarnette Primary School site — is one of the 10 schools that are listed for disposal in the 2026-27 year. It has taken many years to get to the point at which it will be available for disposal. In the meantime, it has…