Debate contribution: RAISE: Failure to Tackle Educational Underachievement
Debate contribution by Mrs Cathy Mason on .
- MLA
- Mrs Cathy Mason
- Party at the time
- Sinn Féin
- Date
- 5 November 2024
- Type
- Debate contribution
- Business
- Private Members' Business
- Heading
- RAISE: Failure to Tackle Educational Underachievement
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4631627
Read the official Assembly record
Text
The decision to pursue a greater geographical spread through the RAISE programme rather than target resources on the basis of objective need is fundamentally flawed. By trying to achieve a greater geographical spread, the Minister is directing much-needed funding away from communities that need it most. I am really not convinced that the design of the programme has been fully thought through. If, as the Department officials suggested, the goal is indeed to increase geographical coverage, a goal that cannot be disagreed with, why have large working-class communities from mid-Ulster, Omagh, Strabane, Armagh city and the entirety of my constituency of South Down all been excluded from the RAISE programme? For instance, there are parts of Downpatrick that rank highly in terms of deprivation. It is an area outside Belfast, yet it does not feature at all. Fantastic schools like St Colmcille's Primary School in Downpatrick have been excluded from the RAISE funding despite being in an area that scores higher on the deprivation index than other areas that are included in the proposals. If we are serious about tackling educational underachievement, we must accept that poverty is the biggest predictor of educational underachievement. That has not been fully accepted in the design of the programme. There is an over-reliance on GCSE data in determining eligibility. That is deeply problematic and runs counter to the concept of early intervention. Time after time, we hear that early intervention is key. If we are serious about improving the educational outcomes of all children, rather than just using buzzwords, the Department should work to invest in early intervention through early years and primary-level education to give children the very best start in life. The Minister must go back to the drawing board with this. We need a plan that will deliver the investment on the basis of objective need and target and support the children and communities that need it most in order to promote the very best educational outcomes for all children.
330 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.04 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- Assessed as legitimate policy scrutiny (0.95).
- No identity-based framing was identified (1.00).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.02 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.95 | Yes |
| Overall judgement | 0.04 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-related subject | 0.62 |
| Education structures, integration and community division | 0.31 |
| Another identity-related subject | 0.03 |
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.01 |
| Gender, sexuality, abortion and related social issues | 0.01 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:30 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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