Danny Baker
West Belfast · Sinn Féin · Northern Ireland
“I thank the Member for giving way. It is a fundamental right to give girls this choice, rather than allowing them it. Does the Member share my frustration with the DUP's position and that of the Minister? They have created a contradiction here. They are even shutting down the debate today by the Minister's not being here.”
“Does the Member agree that it shows the importance of the Education Committee and what we have done here, given that, clearly, by not even showing up today, the Minister has shown that he was never going to do this? He has sent a very clear message to all those young girls out there that he just does not do equality.”
“On Saturday, I was in Lisburn with a number of my colleagues to take part in a leaflet drop across Lisburn and Lagan Valley to promote our Assembly candidate and councillor Declan Lynch. Declan, his wife and mother and I were all subjected to intimidation and sectarian abuse by a number of loyalists.”
“Every Member of the Assembly must be able to go about their job without threats, intimidation or sectarian abuse. The people responsible for that type of behaviour want to drag us back in time. They want to divide us and want hate and fear to dominate, but they will not win.”
“Our commitment and that of Declan Lynch is to work for everyone in Lagan Valley, and that is what he will do every day. <BR /> <BR />I conclude with this: the silence from political leadership in that community is deafening.”
“The very modest ask from Caleb's cause was for the Minister to prioritise preparatory work towards legislation to support those children. That did not happen. In fact, that campaign was gaslighted. That is shameful. As we head towards summer, when families need a bit of respite, it is a postcode lottery when it comes to direct payments.”
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“I thank the Member for giving way. It is a fundamental right to give girls this choice, rather than allowing them it. Does the Member share my frustration with the DUP's position and that of the Minister? They have created a contradiction here. They are even shutting down the debate today by the Minister's not being here.”
“Does the Member agree that it shows the importance of the Education Committee and what we have done here, given that, clearly, by not even showing up today, the Minister has shown that he was never going to do this? He has sent a very clear message to all those young girls out there that he just does not do equality.”
“Our commitment and that of Declan Lynch is to work for everyone in Lagan Valley, and that is what he will do every day. <BR /> <BR />I conclude with this: the silence from political leadership in that community is deafening. I see the deputy First Minister in the Chamber: I call on her to condemn the sectarian abuse that a grandmother and mother were subjected to in Lagan Valley on Saturday.”
“Every Member of the Assembly must be able to go about their job without threats, intimidation or sectarian abuse. The people responsible for that type of behaviour want to drag us back in time. They want to divide us and want hate and fear to dominate, but they will not win. Sinn Féin has the right to go anywhere to speak to people and work with them to improve their lives. It has the right to work with communities to improve areas and develop community resources and services to make this a better place for all of us, no matter our background, to live and raise our families. We will be told by no one where to go or what we can and cannot do. Those days are over. They are done. We will keep moving forward, and we will not be deterred.”
“On Saturday, I was in Lisburn with a number of my colleagues to take part in a leaflet drop across Lisburn and Lagan Valley to promote our Assembly candidate and councillor Declan Lynch. Declan, his wife and mother and I were all subjected to intimidation and sectarian abuse by a number of loyalists. Some followed us into the shop to ask, "Do you like the flags? Do you like being up here? We know that you come up here. You are not welcome up here". Sadly, they even asked, "Where do you live? We will find out where you live". Then, as we proceeded with the leaflet drop, Declan's mother, his wife and his toddler son were subjected to the vilest sectarian abuse. I cannot say the words in the Chamber, but they were preceded by the word "Fenian". That has all been reported to the police. <BR /> <BR />The days of no-go areas are over.”
“Minister, classroom assistants play a vital role in our classrooms. They are deeply concerned about the direction of travel and are worried about children losing out on their one-to-one support. It will be in your actions, not your words that you are judged. You will have heard, even in what has been said today, that kids are being placed in the wrong settings and that they are then blamed and end up on reduced timetables. Will you give a cast-iron guarantee that no child who is entitled to one-to-one support will lose out under your plans?”
“In the past number of weeks, I have seen more time in the Chamber spent arguing over something that has been vetoed. Hours upon hours spent debating something —”
“<BR /> <BR />Where will the leadership come from? With just two weeks left, will the Education Minister and the Health Minister come to the House to lay out their plan? I doubt that very much.”
“The very modest ask from Caleb's cause was for the Minister to prioritise preparatory work towards legislation to support those children. That did not happen. In fact, that campaign was gaslighted. That is shameful. As we head towards summer, when families need a bit of respite, it is a postcode lottery when it comes to direct payments. In the Belfast Trust, you may have 10 or 16 hours, but if you move across into the South Eastern Trust, parents are being told that a child can have only two or four hours because the trust does not want them to get too reliant on that support. What a disingenuous message to send to parents. The condition of children with additional and complex needs is not going to change nor is the support that they need, so why are they always messed about? It is the same families who are always messed about.”
“Those children will be excited and want to go to school with their peers. As they watch on, their peers will know where they are going, but they will not know where they will be. It is a cliff edge every single year. At this time last year, as Members drew to a close, heading towards recess, the Education Minister did not come to the House even though hundreds of children were being left behind. He was, in fact, in Florida, championing TransformED. Where is he today? Are we going to hear anything in the weeks ahead that will give some reassurance to parents? I very much doubt it. <BR /> <BR />It is not just the Education Minister who is failing that same group of children. It is the Health Minister, too. Post-19 children are heading for a cliff edge.”
“Another school year is coming to an end, and, unfortunately, as has been the case time and time again, the same group of children will not have a place to allow them to start school in September. Hundreds of children with additional and complex needs are sitting at home not knowing what is going to happen next. That is a shameful indictment of the Minister's failure to prepare. The Education Authority (EA) and the Department of Education told us to judge them by this year, and, once again, hundreds of children are being left behind. <BR /> <BR />It will be those children who will be offered places that do not even exist. It will be the same children who will end up on reduced timetables that the Department and the EA have no record of: no one is even keeping tabs on them. What message is that to send to those parents?”
“For the past seven minutes of your winding-up speech, you have been talking about something coming out of the Executive. What is really hurting you right now is that you know that we will not support the principle of what you want to do. It is being set out clearly that the Bill that you really want will not get through its later stages. You have really lost today, and that is what hurts you the most. Get on to your Bill and stop worrying about us.”
“The Member has said an awful lot, but this is his party, and it will use a petition of concern (POC). How is that democracy? His party is going to do it again, but we have to listen to him whine on and on about it.”
“Teachers have nothing to fear, but it is also about the timing of the Bill. Inspections have been happening, and changes have been made, but the legislation would sanction teachers. <BR /> <BR />You talked about our most vulnerable children: I am sorry, but it is the system that makes our children vulnerable. Many of our children are not being placed in the right setting. Our teachers' workload is unbelievable. You are not listening. You are not grasping that, and that is the big problem in the Chamber today. It is clear what the DUP really wants to do through the legislation.”
“You know what he is up to. Our teachers will be watching, and I ask you to vote the Bill down. There are other ways to get the RE stuff done. It will not be a vote on standards or inspection; it will be a vote on creating new dismissal powers linked to lawful industrial action. Today, you either stand with teachers or you do not; no ifs and no buts. You cannot dance on the head of a pin. Why would anybody enable the Minister to intimidate and bully our teachers and school leaders?”
“All the while, workload continues to increase. I will say that again: our teachers' workload continues to increase. What is the Minister doing here today? He is pushing ahead with legislation to create powers that could ultimately lead to teachers losing their jobs. <BR /> <BR />Educational excellence can be achieved only by investing in and trusting our teachers. Teachers are not the problem. The teacher who spends evenings preparing lessons is not the problem. The teacher who buys classroom resources or feeds hungry children from their own pocket is not the problem. At a time when the Education Minister should be rebuilding relationships across education, his Bill just deepens division and mistrust. I ask all MLAs to reflect carefully. You have heard his engagement. He has given some commitments and then rowed back from them.”
“Not yet. <BR /> <BR />The whole point of the Minister's legislation is to come after and sanction our teachers. How do we stop that today? We send a clear message that we do not stand with him. Why? At a time when schools across the North face enormous challenges, I have to ask whether this is really a priority. Schools struggle to recruit teachers and retain experienced staff. School leaders are dealing with unprecedented pressures. The Minister has continued to overwhelm school leaders and teachers with consultation after consultation. We have heard them say that at the Education Committee, but he ignores it. If he does not agree with them or if he does not agree with the responses to a consultation, as we saw on TransformED in respect of AS levels and coursework, he just completely ignores it.”
“We are voting against the Bill at Second Stage, because we believe that the principle of the Bill is to sanction our teachers. We all have an opportunity to stand with teachers today and send a clear message to the Minister.”
“To bring people along with you, you need to build trust and confidence. Teachers, school leaders and support staff do not trust the Minister. The House does not trust the Minister. Confidence in him was lost long ago. The Bill is not about safeguarding, RE or inspections; it is about facing down and intimidating teachers, because the Minister does not like scrutiny. At a time when the Education Minister should be working alongside our teachers to tackle workload, he would rather sanction them; in fact, the Minister would criminalise teachers if he got the chance. Let us be honest: just because legislation is coming out of the Executive that is not an endorsement. The Assembly is the place for debate and scrutiny, and it should be open and transparent. We are being so today.”
“The RE issues could be addressed through a stand-alone legislative vehicle, subordinate legislation, a revised core syllabus, strengthened guidance or a combination of all of those measures. I take the points that Alliance Members have set out today. I wish them well in trying to amend the legislation, to get the issues ironed out and to get the outcomes that they really want. To be brutally honest, I do not think that that will happen.”
“That means you are not getting any interventions. <BR /> <BR />I have listened intently to the debate today, and I have listened to our teachers, our school leaders and our support staff. It was they who asked us to come here today and vote down the Bill. I share their view that the principle of the Bill, as set out by the Minister and as has been clear from the interactions with DUP Members, is about sanctioning our teachers. That is the premise of the Bill. <BR /> <BR />I will address the issue of the Supreme Court judgement, because it is really unfortunate that it has been tagged onto this legislation. The Supreme Court judgement requires action, but it does not require that action to be tied to legislation that imposes professional misconduct sanctions on teachers.”
“Go raibh maith agat, a Phríomh-Leas-Cheann Comhairle.”
“OK. You voted against my private Member's Bill at Second Stage. You had not read it. You had not even looked at it. You ran about to try to get Members to get that bit of legislation to even look at it, but you still walked through the Lobby to vote against it. That makes no sense whatsoever.”
“I am not saying that that cannot be done; I am saying that I do not trust him. If we hollow out the Bill, we are not going to end up getting what we think that we are going to get. The whole principle behind the Bill is to sanction teachers. That is why teachers are so angry, and that is why we will vote against it. We stand with teachers, not with him.”
“Does he share my concerns that teachers may be looking at our experience in the Education Committee when our 11 amendments to the school uniforms Bill were not brought to the Floor for debate? Maybe that is what teachers are thinking about.”
“Are you always going to take it that, if something comes out of the Executive, that is an endorsement? Scrutiny should happen in the Chamber. You should know all about that. You will not let the 'good jobs' employment rights Bill go through. Do you want us to keep blocking everything? Is that what you want us to do, or is that what you are going to do?”
“They need to re-engage with parents and human rights advocates and to prioritise the resources in their budgets to support children with additional and complex needs, because right now they are slipping through the cracks of a system that barely exists. That is why Caleb's cause exists, and it is fighting for what young people deserve: a lifelong care plan, equality and pathways. The Assembly still has time to work together around the clock to build a legacy of hope, dignity and future possibilities. Is it not time for the Education and Health Ministers to show up —”
“<BR /> <BR />Young people who attend special schools live with a wide range of complex needs and challenges. Behind every one of those people is a family that fights every day, year-on-year, to access support that should already exist. There is no clear guidance, joined-up planning or straightforward pathway, and we saw that recently when two Ministers could not even pick up the phone to each other. Families are left to rely on one another to navigate an exhausting system. <BR /> <BR />The hard truth that we cannot ignore is that children do not stay children for ever. They grow up, but their disabilities do not disappear. Their needs do not suddenly end when they leave school or turn 25. Children with additional and complex needs need the Health Minister and the Education Minister to get real.”
“Choice is not an option; equity does not exist; and the pathway ahead is not clear. Imagine navigating a system that was not built for you; a system that says, "Wait longer and fight harder"; a system that needs to be reformed. However, we have already seen proposals for reform that will make the system worse. The Children's Law Centre has sounded the alarm bells about the reforms being proposed by the Education Minister. Across the water, there are proposals that will take away the rights and legal protections of children and their families. The Minister who is responding in the Chamber today has done solid work to progress the opportunities for children with additional needs. However, in all honesty, we needed the Health Minister and the Education Minister to be here to play their role in the next piece of the puzzle.”
“The families in the Gallery heard the Health Minister say that he would not be found wanting in the 311 days left to him, but then he scurried out the door. As the leader of the party that holds the Department, you have a responsibility, because that is where it is failing right now. Imagine the opportunities that we all had when we were 19 and the opportunities that are now being offered to those children. They are being given one option, with no guidance, no support and no real choice. That their voice does not matter and their future does not matter is the clear message that they got from the Health Minister today when he walked out that door. <BR /> <BR />Children are simply being placed into a box that does not fit them, and that is the reality of post-19 SEN provision for too many children and young people with complex needs.”
“Minister, how, then, do you justify the failure to appoint candidates deemed suitable to the Victims and Survivors Service (VSS) board two years after a completed public competition in which they were told that they were successful?”
“Does the Member accept that there is a really big role for Health the whole way through this, and particularly at post-19? We can see, through the local impact teams, that the fact that Health is not really engaged is putting the cart before the horse.”
“We cannot claim to learn from campaigns such as Caleb's cause while we create the conditions that risk repeating those failures. No one opposes the need for reform; we just need better reform that is resourced and realistic and that recognises that SENCOs are not an unlimited resource but are human beings who carry out one of the most demanding roles in our education system. Minister, I ask you, please, to listen to SENCOs, parents, teachers and support staff, to the Children's Law Centre and to children's rights advocates. You have a choice to either listen to the warnings or risk repeating past failures.”
“They are being asked to do the impossible: to spend hours well beyond those that they are contracted to work, providing that help and support to families. <BR /> <BR />SENCOs are not just coordinators; they are full-time teachers. They manage their classrooms or the specialist provision in mainstream schools (SPiMS) by day and complete their complex SEN responsibilities in the margins of an already overflowing workload. Now, under the Minister's reforms, through local impact teams and changes to classroom support, more will be added to their workload: more coordination, administration and responsibility. What happens when SENCOs, who are already overwhelmed, are asked to carry ever more? That question is not rhetorical. We have already seen it: delays, missed needs and families losing trust and all hope.”
“We heard that just a few months ago. The warning signs have been there for a long time. The SEN reform agenda risks making the same mistakes all over again. <BR /> <BR />Caleb's cause has shown us the cost of getting things wrong at transition points. It has shown us what happens when children and young adults with additional needs do not receive support in time; families are left to fight a system instead of being supported by it; and gaps, delays and pressures turn into real-life consequences. At the centre of preventing those failures, standing quietly in every school, are our SENCOs. They are the ones who identify need, coordinate support and fight to make sure that no child is left behind.”
“I thank the proposer of the motion. What Michelle said was spot on and covered all of the issues. <BR /> <BR />We all want to play our role in supporting children with additional needs and their families. My knowledge comes from parents; campaign groups, such as Caleb's cause; support groups, such as Families with Ups and Downs, SHINE Autism Support Group and Colin Autism Support Group; our teachers; school leaders; classroom assistants; and, of course, our SENCOs. Today is about our SENCOs. I will read out a small part of the evidence that the Education Committee heard from a SENCO:”
“I thank the Minister for his answer. Will he outline his next steps in the business growth accelerator policy proposal?”
“OK. Will the Minister finally commit to listening to the like of the Children's Law Centre and school leaders and admit that his crusade is wrong, and then reset?”
“Minister, I do not know whether you bury your head in the sand or think that everyone in here has come up the Lagan in a bubble. Last week, the Children's Law Centre, teaching unions and children's rights advocates voiced their very serious concerns around your SEN reform agenda. It is clear that the responsibility for SEN priorities and provision is being placed back on schools. You keep mentioning your TransformED. You are the one who is overloading the system. Every school leader has said that, time and time again. That is on you. You are not listening. Only a couple of weeks ago, you would not even take questions from this side of the House.”
“He is adding more pressure to a workforce that is already at breaking point. <BR /> <BR />Our teachers go above and beyond every day. They bring work home. They wash uniforms. They dip into their own pockets to feed children. They are carrying the weight of the system on their back. Teachers do not need warm words; they need action. The Minister needs to listen and listen now. Our teachers have had enough. They deserve an Education Minister who has their back and who cares. For my part, I will continue to stand up for our teachers and school leaders until they get the support that they deserve.”
“When will the Education Minister start listening? New research from Dublin City University and St Mary's University College, Belfast, should be a wake-up call to the House. Some 91% of teachers are experiencing burnout; nearly half are considering leaving the profession; and 95% say that workload is the driving factor. In Irish-medium education, the situation is even more challenging. That is not sustainable. Teachers are running on empty. <BR /> <BR />It has been a year since a workload review was commissioned and six months since recommendations were produced, yet there is still no action. Instead, the Minister piles more surveys, more consultations, more initiatives, more paperwork and more bureaucracy onto teachers and school leaders with absolutely no support, all in the pursuit of his harmful and regressive reform agenda.”
“I am just wondering where the TUV's workforce plan is for other sectors that, you feel, are being discriminated against. Yesterday, you said that you were not an MLA at the time and missed some deadlines. However, your predecessor was here: where were his ambitions?”
“It is unfair. You have to ask yourself, "Where else does that happen?". It is very much an equality issue. That is where I want to leave it today: it is an equality issue. I commend the Member for introducing the Bill. It is so important.”
“, and additional needs are identified but early intervention is not in place, parents are advised to take their children out of that setting and put them into English-medium settings.”
“Consequently, Irish-medium pupils with SEN can be and have been misidentified or missed completely, leading to delayed interventions, inaccurate diagnoses and reduced access to statutory support. <BR /> <BR />I will finish on this point. This happens regularly across the board, but has happened a lot in my constituency. When children are learning through the medium of Irish, particularly in naíscoil”
“A 2024 report highlighted the fact that, for the 2023-24 academic year, 22·5% of Irish-medium pupils were recorded as having SEN, versus 19·1% in English-medium settings. At post-primary level, that gap widens to 30·1% versus 18·2%. Despite those facts, Irish-medium pupils are less likely to receive a formal statement of SEN. That disparity is due, partly, to the lack of assessment tools that are available in the Irish language and the absence of specialised staff in statutory support services, such as educational psychologists who are fluent in Irish, speech and language therapists who can assess bilingually and SEN support staff who are trained in an immersion context. There is no formal structure to ensure linguistic alignment between pupils and specialised professionals.”
“The Bill will formalise a strategic approach to addressing serious and persistent staffing shortages across all roles, including teachers, classroom assistants and support staff. During the consultation process, a number of issues were highlighted that are specific to the Irish-medium education workforce. I will focus on special educational needs provision and assessment. <BR /> <BR />SEN provision in Irish-medium education is critical. Pupils learning through Irish face higher levels of identified need but do not receive as much appropriate support as their English-medium peers. The gap is structural, linguistic and systemic, and it directly affects equity of access and educational outcomes. Irish-medium schools have a higher proportion of pupils with SEN than English-medium schools do.”
“It followed many years of campaigning and is a credit to the vibrant, growing and thriving Irish language community across the island, which never gave up and the members of which made their voices heard. That is of particular importance, given that Irish speakers have been discriminated against, excluded and ignored by the state. The Identity and Language Act was not, however, the end of the journey. The work to enhance provision for the Irish language in our society goes on, and Sinn Féin will play its part in driving that forward. <BR /> <BR />Irish-medium education is one of the fastest growing sectors in the North, but growth has outpaced workforce planning, leading to concern about teacher supply, training routes and specialist support.”
“I commend my friend and colleague for introducing this important legislation. His passion for and commitment to the Irish language has not gone unnoticed in my constituency or further afield. Before I start my contribution, I will say this: I said, yesterday, that we all have the opportunity to close gaps by introducing legislation in areas that Departments may not be prioritising or on issues that are falling through the gaps. It is important that the opportunity to do that exists and that it is utilised by all Members. <BR /> <BR />The Identity and Language Act 2022 was a significant milestone in the long struggle to achieve historic recognition of the Irish language in the North.”
“I thank the Member for giving way and commend him for bringing forward the important Bill. The fact that its scope goes beyond teachers is particularly welcome. Can the Member outline how important it is that we address the recruitment and retention of the wider workforce, including classroom assistants and educational psychologists?”