Debate contribution: Controlled Schools: Support Arrangements

Debate contribution by Mr Paul Givan on 3 February 2025.

MLA

Mr Paul Givan

Party at the time

Democratic Unionist Party

Date

3 February 2025

Type

Debate contribution (made as a minister)

Business

Ministerial Statement

Heading

Controlled Schools: Support Arrangements

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4773765

Read the official Assembly record

Text

I thank the Member for the question. Unless you are deemed an officially integrated school, the Alliance Party does not care. That is why it has opposed the Strule Shared Education Campus. At every opportunity, it has opposed bringing together 4,000 children at an iconic, landmark educational campus in a town that was blighted by the Troubles and suffered one of the most heinous crimes and largest losses of life. Here we are leading an iconic way forward for Northern Ireland, and who is against it? The Alliance Party. It and others need to open their eyes and become somewhat more progressive and broad-minded, because it certainly does not demonstrate that when it comes to articulating views on controlled schools. It is only the integrated sector that matters to the Alliance Party.

I appreciate the genuine question, because, certainly, the churlish shaking of the head that is typical of the Member has not demonstrated sincerity when it comes to it. The pitch is 20 years old. Such pitches normally have a life cycle of around 10 years; it is 20 years old. An assessment was made in 2019 that it needed to be replaced. I outlined in my statement the process that was followed when it came to the Education Authority's decision. If the Member has concerns about how the EA took the decision, she should, given that her party has a member on the board, ask the question of those who took the decision. Sinn Féin also has members on the board: ask the question. I encourage Members to do that, as the Education Authority took the decision on that minor works scheme. Again, you do not want to get to the facts. You do not want the truth. You want to use the issue as a party political tool. You have lifted Lisneal College and are trying to use it as a rod with which to have a go. It is shameful and disgraceful the kind of politics that the Alliance Party, as well as Sinn Féin and the SDLP, engages in. I will be equitable in my judgement. I will be fair to all. It is blatantly obvious what this is about. Please retract and apologise to Lisneal College for your disgraceful behaviour.

Very much so. The Member highlighted the importance of shared education, which I very much advocate. I have said to all schools, "You should be inclusive". Where there are barriers preventing people from the local community from going to their nearest school or where there is a perception of particular barriers, the school should try to address them. Shared education programmes are hugely beneficial. I have a statutory duty to promote them, and I will do so. I have a statutory duty to promote them in capital builds, and that is why we have taken forward the development at Strule. Limavady is an example of somewhere that we took forward shared education work. Ballycastle, where a school from the controlled sector and one from the Catholic maintained sector will be part of a shared education campus, is another example. Shared education is something that I encourage and that I see happening across all our schools.

Again —.

Yes, of course.

Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I have answered the questions. The Member frames hers to suit her particular narrative. Again, that is not surprising. I say to the Member, who represents the Foyle constituency, that, if she has not been — maybe she has, but I do not know — she should go to Lisneal College. She should speak to the principal about his feelings and the school's feelings about the way in which her party and others have responded to the matter. She should try to be an MLA for all her constituents in Foyle, not just one section.

I thank the Member for the question. In my original comments, I documented the evidence base upon which the decisions were made. It was well documented in the independent review of education that there were systems that were not serving the controlled sector well and structural deficits that needed to be changed. I have highlighted the differential in outcomes for those children from a poor socio-economic background who go to Catholic maintained schools. Those schools do excellent work in creating aspiration and giving children the best life chances, but the evidence has shown that, particularly in working-class communities, controlled sector schools need more support to help their pupils. There is inequality of treatment when it comes to our school sectors and there is inequality of outcomes. We need to make sure that everybody gets the best opportunity in life.

The Member went on to say that £7·6 million has been spent on non-controlled schools in the Foyle constituency. No, he did not; that is right. The Member did not give the facts on the allocation of funding. There is deliberate misrepresentation by the Member and others in the way they try frame this issue. They are struggling to understand the facts that relate to the minor works schemes, because they do not suit their narrative. The Education Authority has a delegated limit of £1 million on decisions that are taken. It decides on the funding for the minor works schemes. If the Member for Foyle has been to the school — I trust that he has — I encourage him to pick up the phone, talk to the principal and ask him how he feels about being dragged into this very unseemly, nasty and petty political squabble that the Members on the opposite Benches have introduced when it comes to the funding for that school.

I thank the Member for the question and for the invitation to visit the schools in his constituency. I pay tribute to the work of those schools. He unashamedly advocates for, and calls on me to, direct funding to those schools. There are always criteria and a process that are followed, and the schools that I have visited will be subject to the same criteria and processes, just as Lisneal College had to comply with the processes and the criteria that are operated by the Education Authority. The Member speaks to the wider issue of the underfunding of our education system. There are cases in which a number of schools have surpluses — some of them significant — and others have significant deficits. However, the two do not balance out: there is a net deficit in our education system when it comes to the funding of our schools. There needs to be greater equality of funding through the common funding formula, but that does not solve the fundamental problem. We need to provide much greater levels of funding in our education system and push that into our schools through the normal budgetary process. That is what is undermining our schools in delivering for children and young people. Investment in education is the best life opportunity for every single child in Northern Ireland, and I am determined to continue to advocate for all our children, irrespective of their background.

Again, that is one of those typical cheap shots that the Member and others have become accustomed to making. I am quite happy for everybody to scrutinise in great detail every single process that I have followed. I will be at the Education Committee on Wednesday. I look forward to at least two hours of engagement with the Committee. I hope that the Committee members are ready for it, because you have just had a flavour of 38 minutes of it. Wait until we have it for over two hours. You had better be ready.

There absolutely has to be collaboration across our education system, and the task force for the controlled sector engaged with other sectors. In my engagement with CCMS, it challenged me on aspects of its role that it wants to see enhanced. I see an opportunity to provide support not just to the controlled sector but to other sectors. We then need, however, collaboration right across our education system, and I want to see that driven forward. The best way that we can do that is by creating equality of treatment in the managing authority status and for controlled schools to be better served than they have been to date. The Member asked about statements and providing support for children with autism. I will publish tomorrow the detailed delivery plan and timeline for the special educational needs transformation, which I spoke about only a few weeks ago. That is another example of driving forward changes in our education system.

This might come as a shock to the Member, but there already is the Controlled Schools' Support Council. It exists, and the fact that the Member does not even know that tells you exactly the problem with Members' attitudes to the controlled sector.

It has charitable status, unlike others with statutory legislative underpinning. As Education Minister, I am not going to tolerate those in the controlled sector being treated as second-class citizens in our country.

Therefore, I have announced the changes in the controlled sector support unit that the EA will establish, and, yes, I will bring legislation to set up a managing authority

It will be a test for everybody in the House to see how genuinely committed they are, when it comes to it, to a society for all.

When they talk about equality, we will see how Members respond to the treatment of the controlled sector. That will be the litmus test for those who proclaim to be for everybody, because that has not been evident in the past 45 minutes.

1,606 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Qualifying Education structures, integration and community division

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 11:51 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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