Paul Givan
Lagan Valley · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“The EA's enhanced support model has been out for consultation. The Member's party is the largest political grouping on the Education Authority, so his party supported the model's being consulted on.”
“Protections around strike action and action short of strike are firmly established in statute for all workers, including teachers. If the Member is referring to the Education Inspections Bill, let me be clear: nothing in that legislation removes or undermines that right.”
“The issue was covered at length at the Education Committee. The position is still not where it ought to be. When I came into office, the position that I inherited was much worse than it is today.”
“It is an area that I have had to navigate, as have many previous Education Ministers. Industrial relations is an area that needs ongoing work. I have outlined how we can address it, but I come back to saying that, when workload was undefined, trade unions struggled to specify the challenge.”
“That is not a fair characterisation. In fact, I was with Justin McCamphill, the leader of NASUWT, at the launch of the curriculum reform, at which he commended me for it and said that he thought that it was good. I have sat in many a meeting with trade union representatives during which they have said, "This is a good initiative.”
“That is exactly why there is a 16-week consultation period, rather than the normal 12 weeks or the minimum eight weeks; to allow the public and teaching profession to very much engage in that curriculum, which I commend to all Members.”
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“<BR /> <BR />It is not enough for me to stand here and offer words of thanks to SENCOs for their hard work and commitment, when so many have spoken so candidly about the real and pressing impact that unsustainable workloads have on their personal and family lives, their mental health and their overall well-being. I want to give clear assurances that those concerns are heard and that they are being taken seriously. Urgent action is required, and my officials are working closely in partnership with the Education Authority to deliver meaningful and sustainable solutions. In May 2025, I appointed an independent panel to undertake a comprehensive review of teacher workload, showing my determination to address the issue.”
“I will therefore take the opportunity to commend the remarkable work that they do, often in exceptionally challenging circumstances. The SENCO role is, without question, highly demanding and has become significantly more challenging in recent years, as rising numbers of children with special educational needs coincide with pressures created by increasingly constrained budgets. In the face of those pressures, however, SENCOs continue to show remarkable resilience and dedication, working tirelessly to ensure that the children and young people in their schools receive the support that they need.”
“Thank you, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Member for tabling the motion, which I will support. I welcome the opportunity to respond to the debate and record my appreciation for the critical role that special educational needs coordinators play in our schools. I have witnessed at first hand the dedication and professionalism of that vital workforce, and the positive impact that it has on the lives of young people with special educational needs not just in my role as Education Minister but in my 16 years of having been an MLA in Lagan Valley and, previously, having served as a councillor from 2005. I know very well the importance of SENCOs to our schools and the important role that is played by our classroom assistants.”
“<BR /> <BR />I want to make sure that we tackle educational underachievement. That is one of the underpinning reasons for the entire TransformED project. If we are to close the attainment gap between the well-off, whose families can afford private tutors and extra support, and those from working-class families who do not have the same privilege, we need to give them equal opportunity in every classroom in every school. The new curriculum and our new approaches will help to close that attainment gap. Those who advocate for the working class, as I do, will support the transformation that we are taking forward.”
“Numerous schemes operate through various funding mechanisms. Targeting social need — TSN — funding goes into all schools, including those in working-class Protestant communities, in every sector. The extended schools programme is another scheme that operates on the basis of free school meal entitlement, which can unlock funding for schools in those areas. The RAISE programme is designed to address educational underachievement, albeit it is not available in every part of Northern Ireland but only in the areas that are selected for it. <BR /> <BR />The question that I have posed is this: how effective is the expenditure, and is it being used to achieve the purpose for which it was allocated? It is a legitimate question, and I would welcome Members' further scrutiny of that, because we need to ensure that the funding is spent effectively.”
“We must be better at identifying placements earlier — we are making progress on that — and at getting new schools. We need to do better, and that is a collective endeavour that requires all of us in the Executive to provide the appropriate support. <BR /> <BR />Parents should not have to fight for basic support. They should not have to get a statement in the first instance; they go down that route because they do not get support. We need to change our systems so that there is support in schools for the early years without parents having to get a legal document to say, "You must", because that does not always produce the support. That is why we need to make the changes that we propose.”
“I am delivering the reform. There are clear plans and they are being implemented. That is why £27·5 million of funding was allocated by the Finance Minister on the transformation of SEN. We are already taking forward tangible changes that are having a positive impact. I would not present the Republic of Ireland as a panacea when it comes to how it deals with SEN. It has challenges and so have England, Scotland and Wales. The Labour Government have had to bail out local authorities to the tune of billions of pounds because of the challenges that they face. The challenges that we have are not unique. They are happening everywhere. However, we have a clear pathway to try to make improvements here. We are making improvements. Is it good enough? No, it is not.”
“At this stage, we are moving through the various processes, but I am pleased with the progress that is being made and the prioritisation that is being given to the development of that location. <BR /> <BR />At the meeting, we discussed the importance of SEN, SEN placements and capital investment in our special schools, and, today, I have been able to update the House on some areas where we are moving forward on the planning stages for three special schools. As well as those, Quillyburn Special School, co-located with Dromore High School, is a priority, and we are making good progress on it. I commend all the school leaders who have been involved in that process.”
“I can. I am delighted to advise that my Department is progressing plans for a new priority special school called Quillyburn Special School, which will be located on a greenfield site owned by the Education Authority on the Quillyburn Road in Dromore. The new Quillyburn Special School will provide state-of-the-art, purpose-built accommodation for up to 275 pupils that is designed to meet a wide range of learning, therapeutic and well-being needs. I am particularly pleased that Quillyburn Special School will be co-located alongside a new-build Dromore High School on the same site. It is important, though, that I am absolutely clear: these will be two separate schools, each with its own leadership, ethos, identity and educational mission, tailored to the distinct needs of their respective school communities.”
“That allows evaluation and any refinement to take place, to allow us to go back to the South and say, "Can we continue with this funding? Here is how we would change it", or, based on the evidence, it may not need to be changed at all if it proves to be successful. The South is open to having that conversation with us. I will certainly take any opportunity to get funding from whatever source.”
“I thank the Member for that question. It was discussed at the meeting by way of an update on a number of those RAISE projects. I am excited about the various projects that have come forward and that we are now moving into that implementation period. All of that is being funded through the Shared Island initiative, and Ministers have indicated that the support that has been there will continue. It is in the region of around €20 million; that is what funds the RAISE initiatives. I hope that we can move now. Having implemented the schemes, I want to open up discussions on how we can continue them, and not just for a two-year period on which the original offer was based. How can we extend that? I know that the South is open to that conversation taking place. We need to see the roll-out of the various projects.”
“That engagement takes place whether it is North/South or indeed east-west.”
“I recently met the Secretary of State, the Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP; the Rt Hon Nick Thomas–Symonds MP, Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office; Matthew Patrick MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State in the Northern Ireland Office; Olivia Bailey MP, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Early Education) and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State (Minister for Equalities) at the Department for Education. The list goes on.”
“I appreciate that, but given that I gave latitude to Mr O'Toole, I will give latitude to my colleague who asked that question. I answered Mr O'Toole. In order to give equality of treatment, which I am sure that all Members would support, it would be unfair of me to discriminate against my colleague from North Belfast. <BR /> <BR />He is right about the engagement. North/South engagement is important. So, too, is east-west engagement. I have had many meetings with my counterparts; most recently, I met Louise Sandher-Jones MP, Minister for Veterans and People. That was to discuss how the armed forces covenant is being implemented within education.”
“Yes, it is a challenge. It is why we have invested in early years intervention through the early learning childcare strategy. Notably, one principal informed me that of the 26 nursery-school children that she has, 13 did not come toilet trained. That figure will alarm people: half of the pupils in a nursery-school class were not toilet trained. Rather than nursery-school teachers being able to engage children in learning, they are having to provide them with basic toilet training. That speaks to a real challenge. It is impacting on the early years provision. It needs to be addressed, and not just within education. Before those children got to nursery school, there was clearly a failure by other services to detect that issue and to support those families.”
“A key aspect of SEN capital investment was the publication of the special schools plan of action. <BR /> <BR />This is an important issue, and we have been dealing with it in how we can move it forward. To update the Assembly: I recently decided to approve three major priority capital projects in the special schools plan of action to allow them to move to the planning and design stages. They are a 320-pupil new-build school for Longstone, a 220-pupil extension to St Gerard's Special School and a new 500-pupil special school in south Belfast. Those are three significant projects that I have approved to move into the planning phases to get to the pre-tender stage. That decision builds on my previous decisions for Sperrinview, Knockevin and the second campus at Ardnashee.”
“Projections indicate that demand will continue to rise over the next 10 years, meaning a need for over 6,000 additional places in our special schools and over 500 new SPiMs places. <BR /> <BR />The SEN capital investment programme provides a structured approach to meeting that demand around maintenance, new specialist classes and extension and refurbishment of special schools. In the past two years, there has been an investment of over £110 million in the SEN capital investment programme. That has created 242 SPiMs places, and 98 additional classrooms in special schools. We have had two major extensions, at Kilronan School and Lisanally Special School. Those are now on-site, and the business case is under review by the Department of Finance for the first of the new Belfast schools.”
“Yes, I can, because SEN was discussed at the North/South meeting. We talked about the need for capital provision for special schools. The Member's question is related. I can say to the Assembly on this issue that, over the past decade, particularly the past five years, there has been extraordinary growth in the demand for specialist places, with over 30,000 children having more-complex needs and a formal statement of SEN, something that we touched on and that is shared in both jurisdictions. As a result, there has been a 49% increase in the number of pupils attending a special school and a 205% increase in the number of pupils requiring a place in specialist provision in mainstream schools (SPiMs).”
“Where there can be joint collaboration on these endeavours, I am very much up for that happening. I have already acted to incorporate input from the South formally through my processes, and I will continue to do so.”
“The Member is right: there are better outcomes for young people in the education system in the South. That is why we have looked at it and why we have incorporated into our transformation programme some of what the Republic of Ireland is doing. For that to be brought into the process, a former chief inspector in the Republic of Ireland is part of the international ministerial advisory panel, directly inputting into the processes that we are taking forward. We are harnessing that information. <BR /> <BR />The South faces similar issues with the increasing numbers of children with SEN and how to work through those issues, so my officials are in constant engagement with those in the Republic so that we can learn from what they have been doing. I believe that the South can learn from some of the practices that we are taking forward.”
“Within the SEN work, the update that Stephen Douthart provided on Middletown was very much about what more it can do with the expertise that it has to provide support to schools to address autism. That was a matter that we discussed. A landscape review of the Middletown Centre for Autism will be carried out, and that will provide an opportunity to ensure that the current purposes for which it is commissioned are being fulfilled. It is also an opportunity to look at what more it could do. We discussed where we can enhance that provision, subject to all the caveats around how that can be resourced and so on. I think that the landscape review, which will be commissioned shortly, is an opportunity to consider and address that particular issue.”
“It was not on the agenda and was not a matter of discussion, but it is an active issue, outside of that meeting, that I am pursuing.”
“Normal protocol is that Members ought to ask questions that relate to the statement. That was not in the statement, so it is not relevant. The leader of the Opposition should focus on asking questions that relate the statement. Rather than just make that point to the Member, however, I will say that it is an issue of concern for me. It is an issue that I have recently raised again with the Minister for the Economy, because responsibility for higher education access rests with the Department for the Economy. I very much would support the Republic of Ireland giving proper recognition to the qualifications that our young people have, and I will happily engage collectively to try to get the Republic of Ireland to respect qualifications from Northern Ireland.”
“It also welcomed ongoing work on enhancing cooperation and collaboration on specific initiatives in the areas of equality and inclusion. <BR /> <BR />Ministers received a presentation on the Creative Connections pilot programme from departmental officials in the Department of Education and the Department of Education and Youth (DEY) and from Creative Connections, which is a cross-border scheme that was designed to bring creativity and the arts into schools to enhance learning, teaching and assessment through creative partnerships. The Council acknowledged the strong progress made by the programme to date, which has resulted in its being confirmed for continuation and further development in 2026-27. <BR /> <BR />The Council agreed to hold its next meeting in the education sectoral format in the autumn of 2026.”
“The Council welcomed the establishment of further policy exchange events between officials and experts from each Department to discuss issues and potential solutions to shared challenges in the area of SEN, and it looks forward to further updates. <BR /> <BR />The NSMC welcomed the cooperation between officials from the Department of Education and the Department of Children, Disability and Equality (DCDE) in the area of early education, learning and care. Ministers noted the commitment of the two Departments to engage in cooperation in a way that builds on existing work being progressed between them. The Council agreed that officials should explore potential options for further collaboration and knowledge exchange and provide an update at a future meeting.”
“<BR /> <BR />Ministers received an update from the CEO of Middletown Centre for Autism, Stephen Douthart, and the Council recognised the continuing cooperation and positive reciprocal collaboration on a variety of challenges in the special educational needs sector between the two jurisdictions. The NSMC welcomed the progress that is being made by the two Education Departments and Middletown Centre for Autism to facilitate and maintain the delivery of the centre's range of services. Building on the successful North/South teacher training event delivered by Middletown Centre for Autism on school non-attendance among autistic young people, Ministers noted that both Departments are facilitating further cooperation among teachers and sharing experiences and information on current trends in education provision to those with special needs.”
“<BR /> <BR />Ministers noted the continued cooperation between the Departments on the pilot cooperation programme to address educational disadvantage. The Council acknowledged the progress of the RAISE programme, including the calls for and selection of locality-led projects to deliver against objectives in the strategic area plans for the RAISE localities. We also welcomed the progress of the teachers' research exchange (T-REX) platform and the Creative Connections arts education pilot programme, which are connecting education professionals across both jurisdictions and empowering young people to shape their own learning experiences. The Council noted the continued delivery of existing PEACE PLUS projects and the exploration of further funding award opportunities that focus on empowering and investing in young people.”
“In compliance with section 52 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998, I will make the following statement on the meeting of the North/South Ministerial Council (NSMC) in the education sectoral format that was held on 22 April this year. The Minister of Finance has agreed that I will make the statement on behalf of us both. <BR /> <BR />The meeting was held in Rathvarna Youth Resource Centre in Lisburn. It was attended by me; Hildegarde Naughton TD, the Minister for Education and Youth in the Republic of Ireland; and John O'Dowd MLA, the Minister of Finance. I chaired the meeting. Topics for discussion were addressing educational disadvantage, special educational needs and early years education. We also received a presentation from Creative Connections.”
“Behavioural policy is very much something that I will look at. I intend to provide greater clarity on the expectations and consistency of practice across our schools and how we deal with that. <BR /> <BR />The Member is right about EA bureaucracy. That is why a subcommittee will be established in the TNC that will look at identifying what bureaucracy is necessary. We should ask of schools only what is needed, not what is nice to have. Where unnecessary information is being sought, I want to reduce that. Teachers want to focus on what they do best, which is teaching in the classroom. Often, so much of their time is spent dealing with issues other than teaching.”
“That is not appropriate. There clearly needs to be support for teaching staff and children on whom it has an impact. Parental responsibility also needs to be engaged. Some pupils who show that behaviour will come from challenging backgrounds. Principals tell me that, at times, when they make contact with a child's home, the parents are very defensive of their child, who can do no wrong. Those parents do not want to engage constructively. That is not acceptable. Schools are respected institutions, and our teachers are trusted. We have to place great value in them. When they seek to work through issues, we need to make sure that the supports from outside services and in the home are there in a positive way. Unfortunately, that is not always the case. I stand very much behind our teaching professionals as they seek to address that issue.”
“I thank the Member for the question and for the encouraging comments that he made about aspects of the proposals. It is important that we work through them in order to allow them to be implemented. The benefit will then be accrued to the teaching profession. <BR /> <BR />The Member mentioned workplace violence and poor behaviour in our schools, which is extremely concerning. It happens in all schools; it is not unique to one setting. Principals have raised the issue with me. A clear framework will be established in the action plan, and there is a commitment to publish that by the end of June to recognise the importance associated with it. It should be of concern to all of us that there is workplace violence, including in our primary schools, towards some of our teachers. It is a regular occurrence, not an irregular one.”
“<BR /> <BR />Those support staff also sit within the national joint-working agreements at a UK-wide level. We feed into that process. Support staff have had pay rises as a result of the framework that they are engaged in. Teaching pay sits within a Northern Ireland framework and is subject to negotiations at a Northern Ireland level, but support staff are handled at a UK-wide level, and, over the past number of years, they have received pay rises as a result of that. We all want to do more. We all want to give more, recognising the important contribution that they make. That is why, through the reform of the SEN model, I want to identify greater ways in which to recognise our support staff, especially our classroom assistants.”
“The Member is right to praise the work of classroom assistants, and I join him in that. That is why, as part of SEN reform, I want to be able to provide opportunities for career development and pathways to enhance what classroom assistants are able to provide in our schools and to give them the professional support that will allow them to develop, including when it comes to better pay. <BR /> <BR />I say to the Member that the Executive supported a new business case — it was collectively supported by all the parties in the Executive — that contained a significant increase in terms and conditions for support staff, including classroom assistants as well as a range of different support staff. Significant investment by the Executive was required to provide the financial support for that.”
“Therefore, we have to facilitate an opportunity for them to do so. There are, clearly, minimum requirements for the number of days on which schools have to be open, and provision is made when it comes to teaching. I will, in no way, seek to undermine that. I have to listen to the teaching profession, because it has asked for those opportunities to engage in the transformation work, and it is only right that we provide that support to them.”
“I am sure that the Member will lead by example in future after that rebuke and will not engage in the very same behaviour that he has accused others of. He does it himself. Indeed, the first Member who had the Floor, Mr McCrossan, engaged in exactly the behaviour for which he has just rebuked others. People will see through that shallowness from the Opposition. <BR /> <BR />The question on the substantive issue is a valid one, and I thank the Member for raising it. There is a balance when it comes to development days — Baker days — and how they are utilised effectively. It is important that, as we go through the transformation, teachers need to be given the opportunity to engage in it at the school level and to work through the issues; that is something that the teaching profession has relayed to me.”
“I was encouraged yesterday by the recognition that the action plan has reflected that and seeks to find a way through supporting school leaders in particular and addressing workloads and the challenges that they are facing. Ultimately, it is a matter for the NAHT and all the other unions as to how they respond officially, but I certainly believe that they want to see progress being made. I believe that they recognise that the document contains a route to achieve that. However, in order for us to get to the end destination, we need to work through all those issues. That requires industrial stability, shared ownership and collaboration and partnership, and I hope that that will be the case when it comes to the trade unions.”
“I believe and hope that it will. Again, I have said that people should be given the space to work through this. I say this to the NAHT: thank you for your engagement on this and for raising issues. You have articulated the needs of school leaders, as have all of the trade unions that are dealing with the issues, whether that is the Ulster Teachers' Union (UTU), the Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO), the National Education Union (NEU) or NASUWT. There are some others, but, along with the NAHT, those are the four recognised official ones. They have been engaged in that process, and the NAHT has brought forward its issues.”
“That is saying, "Agree to the Budget, sign up to something that leaves Education short by £0·6 billion, and, by the way, go figure out how you are going to pay your teachers". Does anyone seriously believe that the Executive should support that proposition? I will not support it. All our public-sector workers should be dealt with equally, while recognising that there will be some variance between different professions. To place that responsibility on my Department is effectively to say that there should not be any increase in pay, and I will not support that approach.”
“It is right that we seek to recognise that through the appropriate remuneration, and we have been able to move to do that. We have increased all teachers' pay by nearly £10,000 on average. That has been the right thing to do. <BR /> <BR />Obviously, when we look at this financial year, we see that the Executive's finances are in a very difficult position across a whole range of Departments. The challenge will be in how we deliver on public-sector pay, but I do not support the notion that has been put forward that pay settlements should be found within Departments' existing allocations, because, through version 2 of the Budget, my Department faces a shortfall somewhere in the region of £500 million to £600 million.”
“I thank the Member for that question. He is right about the work that went in to resolving a three-year industrial dispute. Indeed, there had been action short of strike for nearly a decade. The past two years have been one of the most stable industrial periods that we have had, and that has been as a result of providing the appropriate settlements on teachers' pay and conditions. A new graduate from our teacher training colleges would have started on only £23,000, well below any counterparts in the United Kingdom. I moved to increase that, and I have now done so by 36%, so it is a financially attractive profession. It is often a vocational calling: people come into the teaching profession because they want to empower and support children and young people.”
“I thank the two primary schools for coming to Stormont. I was with them in the Senate Chamber before I came in here. Those two schools — Killowen Primary Coleraine and St John's Primary School — are part of a shared education endeavour. I was very much encouraged by my engagement with them, as I have been when I have visited hundreds of schools. I am always encouraged by what we have in our schools because of our excellent teachers. We are here to support them. I have a plan that will give them much better support, and I believe that we are moving in the right direction of travel.”
“That is why I brought forward a clear policy position on smartphones for our post-primary schools and primary schools. They are not to be brought to primary schools, and they are not to be used in post-primary schools. We are seeking better ways to implement that policy, including giving a role to the ETI so that, as part of its inspection process, it also reports on the effectiveness or otherwise of a school's implementation of that prohibition. I agree with the Member about the damaging aspects of social media.”
“The Member is absolutely right when it comes to the dangers of social media and the negative impact that it has on our young people.”
“The best way to develop skills is by having a powerful knowledge base, and that is the approach that we will take through the changes.”
“Digital literacy is hugely important, and the Member will be encouraged by the importance that we place on digital literacy when the new curriculum goes out for public consultation. We are not moving away from skills. Skills are hugely important. Having knowledge and mastery of subject matters is the foundation. Confidence through that subject knowledge allows you to build skills around critical thinking. <BR /> <BR />At a time of increased disinformation on social media, with the advent of generative AI, now, more than ever, we need a strong, knowledge-based education system. That is vital. Through powerful knowledge, you get powerful skills. It is not either/or; it is both. It is hugely important that we do that.”
“However, the only way that we will be able to make the changes that will improve the conditions is by listening to the profession, engaging with its representatives — both school leaders and trade unions — which I have been doing, and coming forward with plans. They will rightly challenge the Department, the EA and the managing side of the education system. It is their job to do that, but we also need to have that shared responsibility and lead the processes of change over the next period of time. Therefore, I welcome that engagement. It has been constructive, and I publicly thank the trade unions for the engagement that they have had with me on the issue as recently as yesterday.”
“I thank the Member for that question. She is right to highlight the importance of the trade unions. That is why my team have been engaged with them. I have also been personally engaged with them, and the outworkings of the process, including setting up the panel, having the report commissioned and the recommendations in it came about from that engagement. We have gone through the recommendations. We have helped to produce the action plan, and I met them as recently as yesterday and spent time with them. <BR /> <BR />I respect trade unions. They engage with their membership, and I am sure that they will want to formally respond to the action plan in due course.”
“There are clear benefits in lesson creation, personalised support, automated feedback, qualitative feedback highlighting substantial reductions in lesson planning and a significant impact on school leadership and administrative workload, with almost half reporting time savings related specifically to leadership and management tasks. <BR /> <BR />I believe that there is huge potential for that. That is why I have said that I want to invest significantly in it. We have gone through all of the processes. I would be grateful if the Sinn Féin Finance Minister would sign off on it. It has been sitting in his Department for far too long.”
“We need to allow that to be developed and rolled out across our education system. <BR /> <BR />The potential behind it is significant. An average reported workload reduction of 11 hours 52 minutes per week per participant is hugely significant for those who participated in the pilot, 75% of whom reported that GenAI had contributed to improvements in their well-being, and 41% of whom reported early improvements in pupil attainment, with a further 38% anticipating future benefits. Strong potential has also been identified for supporting SEN provision and inclusive practices.”
“I thank the Member for the invitation to visit a number of schools in her constituency last week. It was refreshing to hear what they had to say on the reforms that I will take forward through the support of the teaching profession. <BR /> <BR />The Member touches on a really important point that I have raised around how we can harness artificial intelligence and generative AI, something that, often, many people fear and, at times, rightly so. However, harnessed effectively, ethically and with the appropriate safeguards in place, it can be transformative. We have already piloted that work. We have had two proof-of-concept schemes with school leaders and teachers, working with Microsoft, Google and the Classroom 2000 (C2k) platform. That has proven to be impactful on the schools that piloted the work. We need to build on that.”