Barry McElduff
West Tyrone · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I empathise to some degree with those who are qualified longer needing to secure posts, and I encourage the Minister to look creatively at that in the future, if he can. Is there any possibility of introducing or exploring the possibility of a scheme to refresh the head teacher workforce in our schools?”
“Further to Mr Agnew's question, I point out that your predecessor, Minister O'Dowd, was able to increase provision in the most socially deprived areas from 20% to 25%. We want universal provision, but, in some wards that are otherwise regarded as affluent, there are big pockets of deprivation, so is there any scope for looking at that?”
“In light of the fact that there have been increases to teachers' pension contributions and employees' National Insurance contributions as well as, in recent years, changes to income tax thresholds, will teachers be better off or worse off? How does that compare with other public-sector workers?”
“Members will be aware of some problems with the process in the last mandate. For example, the primary schools consultation feedback took the Education Authority over one year to analyse. It was not without its problems.”
“Parents with children in special schools are part of the process for the first time, and they want assurance that the added-value nature of special schools will not be lost in an attempt to standardise provision. <BR /> <BR />As a Sinn Féin MLA, I will say in Irish that we will support the DUP amendment.”
“I will make the first part of my contribution in my role as Chair of the Education Committee, and then I will make some comments from a party political perspective.”
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“On a point of order, Mr Speaker. I ask the Speaker to rule on the use of inappropriate language like "twit", which the Member has just said. I ask him to rule on temperate language.”
“I empathise to some degree with those who are qualified longer needing to secure posts, and I encourage the Minister to look creatively at that in the future, if he can. Is there any possibility of introducing or exploring the possibility of a scheme to refresh the head teacher workforce in our schools?”
“In light of the fact that there have been increases to teachers' pension contributions and employees' National Insurance contributions as well as, in recent years, changes to income tax thresholds, will teachers be better off or worse off? How does that compare with other public-sector workers?”
“Further to Mr Agnew's question, I point out that your predecessor, Minister O'Dowd, was able to increase provision in the most socially deprived areas from 20% to 25%. We want universal provision, but, in some wards that are otherwise regarded as affluent, there are big pockets of deprivation, so is there any scope for looking at that?”
“I thank the Minister for his intervention. That needed to be said, because there is a contest. Among the principals that I met last Friday, there was a howl of protest when that point was made to them in a provocative way to tease out their response. I communicated to those principals that they needed to make arguments based on educational research and evidence. <BR /> <BR />My final point relates to Irish-medium education, particularly post-primary provision. There is a need for a second post-primary in Belfast, and there is a need for a strong Irish-medium post-primary school in the north-west. Gaelcholáiste Dhoire is shaping up to be that.”
“They were at pains to point out that composite classes work and produce good outcomes.”
“Parents with children in special schools are part of the process for the first time, and they want assurance that the added-value nature of special schools will not be lost in an attempt to standardise provision. <BR /> <BR />As a Sinn Féin MLA, I will say in Irish that we will support the DUP amendment. Tá muid ag tacú leis an leasú seo. I want to make three concluding comments. I submitted a written question to the Minister asking him to outline whether there is a body of educational research and evidence to demonstrate or refute the case that primary schools with more than two year groups in a single class produce poor educational outcomes. The Minister acknowledged that that body of educational research does not exist. Last Friday, when I visited St Mary's Primary School in Strabane, I met a group of principals.”
“This society, uniquely in these islands, has the Minister making the decisions on development proposals relating to very small changes to enrolments in schools. <BR /> <BR />To conclude my comments as Education Committee Chair, the Committee wants a clear statement from the Minister on the way forward in relation to the small schools support factor. That is vital to the survival of primaries in rural areas with fewer than 105 pupils. The Committee wants certainty that sustainability measures will be applied transparently and consistently to all schools; wants confirmation that all sectors will work together to share educational provision efficiently; wants to support innovative local school-sharing solutions; and wants, obviously, a process that feels fair to all sectors involved in it.”
“Members will be aware of some problems with the process in the last mandate. For example, the primary schools consultation feedback took the Education Authority over one year to analyse. It was not without its problems. There was uncertainty in schools, and some said that the application of sustainability indicators appeared to be inconsistent. Rural schools felt that, in many cases, area planning was being used to further an official agenda of closing small schools. Others even argued that Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) inspections were being used by the Department to undermine school sustainability and lead to school closures. <BR /> <BR />The motion references presumption against closure in other jurisdictions. One of those jurisdictions introduced ministerial call-in for controversial school closures etc.”
“The Department had often quoted a disputed number that was much higher. Area planning tends to raise controversial issues, but it is necessary in order to plan school provision efficiently so as to deal with demographic changes and, of course, financial challenges.”
“I will make the first part of my contribution in my role as Chair of the Education Committee, and then I will make some comments from a party political perspective. <BR /> <BR />The first thing I want to say as Chair of the Education Committee is that the primary-school population is growing, the post-primary population is not growing, and most of that reduction is happening in non-selective schools. It appears that, in the time ahead, the focus — not all of it, but, perhaps, most of it — of the Department and the area planning process may lie in the direction of primary schools, but I stand to be corrected. <BR /> <BR />In the last mandate, around 26 schools were closed; there were 14 amalgamations involving 31 schools, two thirds of which were primary schools; and the number of vacant desks reduced by just 4,000.”
“— not just something that has been passed to him by senior civil servants.”
“I ask for a little bit of compassion and for the Minister to make this his own decision —”
“I understand that the Minister is going to meet Fermanagh and Omagh District Council in early December to discuss this. There is no proposal to close the Omagh Social Security Office but there is one to relocate a number of posts, and I am saying about it and the Cookstown office that we should be moving in the direction of decentralisation, not centralisation. That should be a key feature of our Programme for Government when it is concluded. <BR /> <BR />In solidarity with the people in the Cookstown district and in Newcastle and elsewhere, I just wanted to make my position known and to call for the retention of a number posts in Omagh. The current plan is that they shall be relocated. When you meet those staff, you see that they are not at an age when travelling to their work will come easy to them.”
“I ask that the Minister makes this decision his own because, when I met the Minister some months ago in relation to issues relevant to this matter pertaining to the Omagh area, I got the impression that he, being new in office, may not have had time to make this his own decision. It was a developing and evolving situation that he may have inherited, and I would like the Minister to put his own stamp on the decision. <BR /> <BR />The reasons of rurality, rural proofing and broadband have been outlined. I want to put on record that there is a proposal to relocate a number of Social Security Agency posts away from Omagh, and this is wholly unnecessary because, in the Omagh office, there has been significant investment in telephony systems, and it has a very valuable workforce.”
“Maybe on one discordant note, it is a pity that the previous Member's party did not take its place in the Executive and accept responsibility. <BR /> <BR />I will now move to a more unanimous and harmonious mode. I commend Linda Dillon for proposing this debate. Living in mid-Tyrone, as I do, I am very familiar with the Cookstown situation and with the rural communities that Linda outlined and which are severely disadvantaged by having poor broadband access. I also commend the MP for Mid Ulster, Francie Molloy, for his proactive role in this campaign and for being in attendance this evening.”
“Nurture is also cost-effective: the cost per child appears to be around £13,000 per annum, contrasted with average costs of provision of support under a SEN statement of £10,000 per annum in primary and £7,000 per annum in post-primary. That might suggest that a more elaborate study needs to be carried out to establish whether schools with nurture units have fewer SEN statements. <BR /> <BR />Our Committee would also like to put on record support for the mainstreaming of nurture, but we may also want to see what impact it has on the overall level of SEN statementing in schools.”
“<BR /> <BR />Our Committee saw evidence of something similar to this in action on a visit to a special school recently, where normal social interactions, eating breakfast, for example, are structured and used to support learning and engagement to positive effect. Anecdotal feedback and the Queen's University report suggest that the nurture approach has a very positive behavioural benefit on children, and nurture would, therefore, appear to sit well with other early intervention measures. <BR /> <BR />The Queen's University study seems to show that about one fifth of participating pupils moved down the SEN register, ie their special educational needs seemed to improve as a consequence of nurture.”
“In my capacity as Cathaoirleach — Chair — of the Education Committee, I want to make a few remarks about our interest as a Statutory Committee in this matter to date. Nurture is a focused, school-based intervention, usually in primary schools, designed to address barriers to learning arising from unmet attachment needs. Nurture units provide a carefully planned safe environment in which to build an attachment relationship with a consistent and reliable adult. A small group of selected children spend the majority of the school week in the nurture unit receiving highly structured and supported learning experiences.”
“From a party political perspective, Sinn Féin's position is that it will support the motion and the SDLP amendment.”
“This is just to serve notice that our party is of a mind to withdraw the motion, if the facility is open to us, given that there has been a very full debate on the value of the Middletown centre and a recognition that the Minister and the Department are moving in the right direction. Of course, we reserve the right to hold our position regarding the value of a residential facility as well.”
“I go back to the point that the original concept of the Middletown centre was that it would provide individual residential support and that pupils between the ages of 11 and 19 would receive appropriate educational interventions for finite time periods, with anticipated educational benefits. That is our concern, and it is reflected strongly in the wording of the motion. However, in the same breath, I want to acknowledge that I detect from the Minister and his Department a commitment to Middletown and to working with the Department of Education and Skills into the future. I wish the Minister and his Department well in that.”
“The media have reported widely on the abandonment of the residential services aspect of the Middletown centre, and I am trying to get to the bottom of that in the motion. <BR /> <BR />My colleagues, including Jennifer McCann and Catherine Seeley, and I are trying to get to the bottom of the original concept that residential services would be delivered at Middletown and of the idea that there would be a change, an evolution or a development, and we want to know why there has been a shift in that thinking. I asked a question in the Assembly after the North/South Ministerial Council statement on 3 October regarding the abandonment of residential services.”
“Joint inspection reports always refer to the exceptional standard of courses and support services that are delivered in the centre, in a child's home and in school settings. The Middletown centre is a very important facility. The Minister has previously pointed out that the focus now appears to be on the delivery of outreach services and that, as the centre has evolved, that is where the focus now appears to lie, but the motion questions that and the residential aspect of the centre, which seems to have been abandoned. Indeed, the Minister acknowledged in previous ministerial statements that residential services would be of value to children and young people in Middletown.”
“During the debate, I invite the Minister to respond to questions from the National Autistic Society (NAS) and Autism NI via their jointly published report, 'Broken Promises', which reflects on the effectiveness of the Act. Indeed, I tabled a question in June inviting the Minister to detail his Department's response to the 'Broken Promises' report, and the Minister could, in his response, perhaps provide some elaboration on, for example, whether there are plans in the Department of Education for specific autism training for teachers, staff, classroom assistants, other education professionals and youth workers. That is the type of recommendation that is included in the 'Broken Promises' report that was initiated by NAS and Autism NI. <BR /> <BR />The Middletown centre has passed all its tests with flying colours.”
“I will go back to very start and remind Members that autism is a developmental disability that influences a person's ability to communicate and relate to other people as well as affecting how they make sense of the world. Of course, it is a spectrum. Some children and young people will lead quite independent lives, and others will need a lot of support throughout their lives. <BR /> <BR />Before I return specifically to the Middletown centre, I want to say that, under the Autism Act 2011, the Department of Health leads on the development, implementation, monitoring and reporting of a cross-departmental autism strategy and publishes figures that are extracted from school census data collected by the Department of Education.”
“I also want to point out that the Middletown centre provides an extensive programme of training and research for parents and professionals. I am very mindful of the stress and pressure that parents feel. Parents of children with autism are very often under immense stress and need a lot of support and respite. <BR /> <BR />I want to touch briefly on the prevalence of autism in our society. It is generally known that the levels of autism in schoolchildren have more than doubled in the last seven years — I think that the correct figure might be 4,000 children with autism in the North alone — and those children have special educational needs. That obviously presents a very challenging scenario for educationalists, parents and Departments.”
“I am only joking. I genuinely want to commend the Minister for visiting the Middletown centre of excellence for autism. <BR /> <BR />The Middletown centre, most Members will know, is a joint initiative by the Department of Education and the Department of Education and Skills, the two Departments for education on this island. It was opened in March 2007 and is funded by the two Departments on a 50:50 basis. Its key objective is to deliver educational services for children with some of the most complex forms of autism. The centre provides support for those who have been referred by the Education Authority or by the Department in the Twenty-six Counties — I will say that, if nobody else says it.”
“The first thing I want to do in the context of the motion is commend the Minister for his visit to the Middletown Centre for Autism in early August. It was not long after he was appointed Minister and was an early initiative on his part. It is all downhill from here.”
“I ask the Minister whether she and her Department are identifying potential new areas for North/South cooperation in this matter?”
“Last week, I visited Sacred Heart College in Omagh informally, and I was very pleased to learn of the excellent work that is taking place there by staff who are domiciled or resident inside Sacred Heart College and who go out and about, interacting with the Sure Start programme and also working in neighbourhood renewal areas where the Sure Start programme does not reach. I think that really good work is taking place in Sacred Heart College in Omagh, and people like Mrs Marion Bradley and Mr Paddy McMahon, the youth tutors and mentors, are doing great work in a partnership way, out and about in the community. I want to emphasise that the Strule shared education campus in my constituency offers a unique and iconic opportunity to test out some of these projects. I will leave it at that.”
“<BR /> <BR />A key Department of Education message in the last mandate and in the current mandate was and is the importance of family engagement in learning and education. The Member for Fermanagh and South Tyrone Maurice Morrow made reference to the key role of parents, and he always emphasises that. <BR /> <BR />The Achieving Derry programme is a long-term sustained intervention to improve standards in schools by improved partnership between schools and voluntary and statutory bodies, including, for example, health bodies.”
“In fairness to the Minister, in his time as a member of the Committee and as its Chair, he also showed a strong interest in the positive messages coming out of the West Belfast Partnership model. <BR /> <BR />Projects like extended schools and full-service schools have focused on key issues such as improving attendance. Attendance is a significant problem for non-selective schools, and all post-primaries with 90% or worse attendance are non-selective schools, often serving deprived areas. I think that that is why partnership working is absolutely essential. If it is achieving results in one area, it is right and proper for other areas to borrow and learn from this type of best practice.”
“Evidently, she is very proud of the achievements in her constituency, understandably and justifiably so, because, in an area of social deprivation, attainment levels are being raised in a very organised fashion and in a fashion that is very well supported by the local community. These achievements have attracted international attention. I know that Catherine Seeley intends to make that point. <BR /> <BR />Some weeks ago, the transferor representatives were present at the Education Committee. I thought that it was very positive that Chris Lyttle made reference to the EastSide Learning partnership and that there was a great appetite on the part of the transferors to look at the best-practice model coming out of west Belfast and support its application.”
“Principal Deputy Speaker, I know that this debate has been on a subject close to your heart as a former Education Minister who initiated many community school partnership-type programmes under your stewardship. In my role as Committee Chair, I want to say at the outset that the Committee does not yet have a formal position on the issues covered by the motion, but the debate has rightly focused, to some degree, on the achievements of existing partnership arrangements in a number of constituencies. <BR /> <BR />It is very positive to hear Members speak in such positive terms about initiatives and programmes in their constituencies. Jennifer McCann tabled the motion and spoke first, and I commend Jennifer for her commitment and her passion as a constituency MLA for West Belfast.”
“Will the Minister keep at the forefront of her mind the weighting that needs to be given to rural needs and rural proofing in decision-making? Will she remind her Executive colleagues, when appropriate and necessary, that the definition of social deprivation includes the distance from essential health services?”
“The town of Omagh recently achieved purple flag status as a safer town in relation to evening entertainment etc. That is down not least to the voluntary efforts of the Omagh Safer Streets project. Will the Minister initiate discussions with the project leaders and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council regarding funding difficulties that they are having?”
“Does the Minister have any plans to reduce or eliminate the small schools factor in the common funding scheme? What I am really searching for is some enthusiasm in the Department and the Education Authority for innovative approaches to the challenges facing small rural schools. Secondly, there is a reference to the first ever regional plan for special schools. Did it surprise the Minister that the Education Authority does not have a single database for children in early years for whom special educational needs have been identified?”
“Mr Anderson's question relates to how schools are rated by the inspectorate. My question is this: who rates the inspectorate? Who inspects the inspectorate — the ETI? Is there an argument to be made that the Education and Training Inspectorate could perhaps be independent?”
“Sinn Féin feels that the tone and sentiment of the motion is good and positive, but we believe that ring-fencing Barnett consequentials through individual motions of this nature is not good budgetary practice. Sin an méid.”
“The Gaelic Athletic Association and the Irish Football Association have provided a network of qualified coaches who work with children at Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 in primary schools. At one point, there were 61 coaches in 571 primary schools in the North, reaching over 39,000 pupils, which is 41% of younger children participating. Those two sporting organisations led the way in that sense. Priority was to be given to schools in which children were likely to benefit most from curriculum-linked physical activity, in particular schools in disadvantaged areas. It is my understanding that the programme cost about £1·3 million per annum. <BR /> <BR />John O'Dowd will be my party's next contributor to the debate, and he will make more of the points that I will briefly state now.”
“The decision on what specific sports or games are offered to pupils and the funding allocated to chosen sports or games is also a matter for each school. The curriculum sports programme is a DE programme not unfamiliar to you, Principal Deputy Speaker. It has been in place since 2007. It is designed to develop the physical literacy skills of our youngest children through participation in enjoyable sports activities, to help to raise children's confidence and self-esteem and to raise the confidence and skills of primary-school teachers in delivering physical education.”
“I begin with a few remarks from my perspective as Chairperson of the Committee for Education. The Committee has not taken a formal position on the issues covered by the motion, so my remarks in this section of my speech, before I make some remarks as a Sinn Féin MLA, are designed to inform the House's understanding of related matters. <BR /> <BR />Of course, physical education is a compulsory element of the revised curriculum for all pupils from foundation stage, which is preschool, to Key Stage 4, which is GCSE. Schools are encouraged to provide at least two hours of PE every week. The delivery of all aspects of the curriculum is, however, a matter for schools. The Department does not compel schools to require pupils to undertake PE, even if we think that they should.”
“I think that the Minister indicated that the speed limit was 20 mph. Can he clarify that? Secondly, there is a practice in the country where tractors very often cause tailbacks. I am all for the farmer, of course I am. At the same time, I wonder whether there is a convention or a law in place restricting the number of vehicles behind a tractor before it might be expected to pull in and give way to the traffic. Is it eight, is it nine or is it 10? It is a very important issue.”
“I take this opportunity to commend the work of organisations in my constituency; ethnic community support groups in Omagh and Strabane. They do tremendous work. What plans do the Executive have in place to make life easier and more fulfilled for child refugees?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement — ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabhail leis — and welcome its content. I want to zone in on two issues. The first concerns the Middletown Centre for Autism. Is there a contradiction in the statement, in that the Minister said that there was great praise and recognition in a very positive review for the centre, but at the same time there appear to be plans to convert to online provision up to 70% of parental training? It appears that residential support services have been abandoned. <BR /> <BR />The second issue is the portability of qualifications on a North/South basis. I think particularly about a situation, if there was to be a withdrawal from EU membership, in respect of accommodation costs or university fees for students from the North who are, perhaps, studying in Dublin.”
“I ask the Minister if he has any message for school principals who are feeling the pressure of reduced school budgets and the possibility of the loss of teaching posts and bigger sized classrooms. Is there any good news emanating from the Department and the Minister on that front?”
“— in other health trust areas. I just want to add my voice to the consensus today.”
“Parents in Omagh, Strabane and other parts of the Western Trust area look enviously across at services enjoyed by families —”
“<BR /> <BR />I support the call for much-improved respite services in the future for ageing carers, for adults who care for other adults and for families. Where should the money be taken from? It definitely should not be taken from domiciliary care, as was hinted at in one meeting that I attended. The key point to make is that there is a major disparity in support services across trust areas.”