Every imported question, contribution and motion, with its classification. Unflagged, uncertain and not-yet-analysed records are all included so the analysis can be checked independently.
I made a clear intervention to ensure that we had a new chief executive in the Education Authority. That intervention was severely criticised by the leader of the SDLP. I very much want the Education Authority to be responsive and to address its failings, but, when I make those changes, I appeal to Members to support…
As recently as Friday, Minister, I was at a school and spoke with parents, teachers and principals about the lack of responsiveness from the EA. Off the back of that, can you detail some specific examples of what has been done to transform the work culture in the EA with regard to criticism about a lack of…
Obviously, the Department engages with the EA on the various recommendations in the landscape review. There were 13 recommendations highlighted relating to improvements required to support organisational effectiveness, governance, accountability and relationships. The report indicated that, whilst matters have…
Minister, I have a follow-on from Mr Dickson's original question. How will the Department monitor progress on reducing red tape in the Education Authority, and what matrix will be used to evaluate success?
Let me quote from the independent review so that it is not me saying it. A number of things have been stated in that report: "The managing authority role has always been a challenge because the EA also provides a wide range of services to all other schools. This results in complicated systems for school management,…
In his answers so far, the Minister has, in some ways, commented on what I was going to ask, namely whether he agrees that the Education Authority has been failing our controlled schools. Perhaps he would like to comment further on the evidence for that.
The independent review of education identified a number of key areas that relate to the managing authority role. I will highlight one of them, which is that the level of support for controlled schools was "suboptimal". That is why I have created a task force to address that issue. We need to make sure that, where…
Thank you, Minister, for your answer. You will be aware that the independent review of education recommended the creation of a single managing authority: what action are you taking to bring that about in this mandate?
I accept that there is a need to review and improve service delivery in education. To that end, education services will be reformed through the outworkings of the end-to-end reviews of special educational needs (SEN) and school improvement, which focus on the development of high-quality, cost-effective services. The…
The Member rightly highlights and namechecks those schools: there is no doubt that they are good schools. As I indicated, area planning is not a function of the Department of Education; it is one for the managing authorities to take forward in how they plan their school estate. There are seven such schools in South…
I declare an interest as a member of the board of governors of Kilbride Central Primary School, a great primary school, and of Ballyclare High School, a great high school. I thank the Minister for his remarks. He will be aware, as he will have heard from his MLAs and others, of the considerable amount of development…
Operational responsibility for the planning of education provision lies with the two statutory planning authorities: the Education Authority and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS). They conduct area-planning activity in consultation and collaboration with a number of sectoral bodies. 'Planning for…
The Member has raised that issue on a number of occasions with me, as have other Members. Whilst I have every sympathy with the positions that are being expressed, the outworkings of how the payment impacts on universal credit is not a matter for me or my Department. It also ties in with issues around Treasury and the…
On the face of it, this is welcome news, but every silver lining has a cloud. I have been contacted by many of those low-paid workers who are also in receipt of universal credit. They are concerned about the impact that the award will have on their entitlement. In particular, if a payment is to be made in the near…
Thank you, Minister, for the update today. It is welcome news that this is now progressing. I welcome also your comments about how important classroom assistants are to the running of our education system. On that basis, can you provide an update on the development of the register for substitute classroom assistants,…
The Member is absolutely right about valuing our support staff. That is why I engaged proactively with the trade unions to get a resolution to the issue around the pay and grading review, which had gone on for some time. Primarily, it was about recruitment and retention in the workforce, but the outworkings of that…
I thank the Minister for his answer. Minister, I am sure that you agree that our education support workers, classroom assistants and staff at all levels are invaluable and deserve a fair rate of pay and good conditions. Can you indicate whether the financial package agreed today for your Department will allow you to…
Due to affordability considerations, the pay and grading agreement will be implemented in two stages. Stage 1 will move eligible staff on to their new pay scales with effect from 1 April 2024, while stage 2 will entail a non-consolidated payment of £2,550, pro rata, to eligible staff in lieu of back pay. The Education…
I thank the Member for her question. That is an important aspect, because the approach to doing the research first was very much based on the reality that, although some anecdotal and other evidence has come forward on what has happened, there is little insight into the scale or depth of the problem. The research is…
I thank the Member for his follow-up question. Absolutely: there are things that people can do. Some of that relates to planning. I know that some farms and farm businesses have already done that, but, of course, there is more that we can do to support that through, in particular, the Department of Agriculture,…
I very much appreciate the response from the deputy First Minister. Can she further update the House on what steps the Executive are taking to fully assess and address the negative impacts on family farms? Does she expect, through discussions with Executive colleagues, that support or guidance will be issued to help…
I thank the Member for his important and timely question. At the moment, many farmers and farming families throughout Northern Ireland are particularly concerned about those proposed changes by the Chancellor. I had taken the opportunity to raise directly with the Chancellor and the Prime Minister concerns about the…
Absolutely. A key part of the international relations work that we do is on what is often referred to as soft diplomacy or cultural diplomacy, which is very much about reaching out in that way and explaining the links of shared culture and history. Many people in the US do not realise that they have that Ulster-Scots…
I thank the deputy First Minister for her answer. I am pleased to take any opportunity to raise the importance of the Ulster-Scots links between Northern Ireland and America, and I believe that J D Vance's being in the White House presents great opportunities. Does the deputy First Minister think that this is a key…