Michelle Guy
Lagan Valley · Alliance Party · Northern Ireland
“It can be seen from those quotes that the issue impacts on girls in a real and practical way. If they feel too uncomfortable to be in school, it is impacting on their access to education. If they hold back in PE or while playing at break or lunch, what does that say to them about how we value exercise and sport?”
“Essentially, he was saying that we had to draw the line somewhere, and the automatic right of girls to be allowed to wear trousers is where that line has been drawn. <BR /> <BR />Some will play down the issue and say that it is relevant in only a small number of schools.”
“When I explain what the legislation would do, the reaction from people is almost always the same. They ask, "Are you seriously saying that, in 2026, girls can't wear trousers in school?". The answer is that they do not have that right.”
“The Assembly should support the Bill. I again ask the Minister to save us time by simply updating the statutory uniform guidelines. I find the DUP position of enabling the Bill to progress to Committee Stage while its Minister is against it to be quite bizarre.”
“<BR /> <BR />I question why that basic request from girls and young women is being denied or is deemed to be unimportant. Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that some people — mainly men — still want to control what women wear.”
“I take the Member's point. Ultimately, however, the person who could make the change is the Minister, and he has decided not to. Saying that schools have a choice or that they have autonomy does not absolve the Minister from his ultimately having responsibility to be able to make that change.”
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“The mental health champion has described the transfer test as a "failure experience", one that damages self-esteem and self-worth. I saw that reality up close on Friday, when a parent came to my home after her child had underperformed in the SEAG test owing to anxiety. That child now has to carry not only anxiety but the label of failure. She is unlikely to attend the same school as her siblings and will likely be separated from her friends. I ask Members this: whose interest does that serve? Not the child's, not the family's and certainly not the education system's. If we truly believe that every child deserves to thrive, we cannot defend a system that sorts children so early, so crudely and at such personal cost.”
“Strengthening vocational pathways appears to be largely absent from the Minister's curriculum review. That should concern us all, particularly given the skills shortages that we face. <BR /> <BR />Testing children at 11 on a narrow range of subjects under intense pressure is simply not a reliable predictor of future academic success. We know that because the evidence tells us that. That is why the independent review of education's recommendation to move away from a one-off test towards a broader pupil profile that is informed by statutory assessment and adaptive testing deserves serious consideration from the Minister and the Department as a way in which to phase out selection at 11. <BR /> <BR />It is important that we also highlight the system's emotional cost.”
“The debate is not about trashing grammar schools but about whether a single high-stakes test at 11 years old is fair, effective and evidence-based. It is not. <BR /> <BR />The independent review of education cited research showing that the old, state-run system had the potential to misclassify up to two thirds of pupils by as many as three grades. That is not a small margin of error but a fundamental flaw. It dispels the argument that selection ensures that those with academic promise can fulfil that promise while others can pursue vocational opportunities. That argument might be more defensible if we had genuinely strong vocational and technical pathways, with parity of esteem, but we do not. There has been no meaningful reform in that space.”
“The current system does not deliver those outcomes. Far from being a ladder of opportunity, academic selection entrenches inequality and underachievement. <BR /> <BR />The independent review of education was clear about that. Grammar-school intakes differ significantly in socio-economic profile from those of non-selective schools. Just over 12% of grammar-school pupils are entitled to free school meals, compared with around 35% in non-selective schools. The same disparities exist for pupils with additional needs and for newcomer children. Members will be quick to speak about how they personally benefited from a grammar-school education, and I do not doubt that they did. I do not doubt the quality of the education that is delivered by grammar schools or the commitment of their staff, but that is not the point.”
“For me, that moment felt like an affront to the very idea of education, because it was now about teaching to the test — sterile, regimented and repetitive — at 10 years old. <BR /> <BR />Let me be absolutely clear that participation in the process is not endorsement. Parents do not engage with academic selection because they believe that it is right but because they have no real choice. We navigate the system that we have, not the system that we wish that we had, because, as parents, we want our children to be happy, settled and able to attend the same school as their friends. As politicians, however, we have a different responsibility. We cannot simply ask, "What works for us or for people like us?". We have to be more ambitious than that. We have to want the best outcomes for all children.”
“There is so much to say about the transfer system here. There are ideological points, statistics and research findings, but, at the heart of the system, there are 10- and 11-year-old primary-school children. To be honest, if I were to look at it through that lens, the system would break my heart. To illustrate that, I go back to my daughter's first practice test, which she did in our kitchen during lockdown. One of the comprehension questions was on a topic that she loved. She wrote an answer that was expressive, thoughtful and full of detail. As we went through the marking scheme, I had to explain to her that, although I loved her answer, and the extra thought that she had put into it, it did not matter. It would not earn her any more marks. As such, I told her that she would have to restrict her answers.”
“I thank the Minister for the statement. Minister, how will you avoid repeating the mistakes of previous RE syllabus design processes and ensure that, as well as Churches, other faiths and non-faith perspectives are involved in the development from the outset?”
“Thank you, Minister, for that response. In the midst of the financial crisis in education, it is vital that we have confidence that procurement is achieving value for money. A school leader in our constituency recently vented his frustration to me that the EA procurement frameworks were not delivering on that. He was forced to pay an annual fee of over £600 for one supplier, yet he still had to pay that supplier a further £500 in fees to deliver pretty much nothing. Yet, in another sector, he used the same supplier who charged him considerably less. Minister, can you provide an assurance that the new systems will achieve value for money for schools and ensure that the taxpayer and our schools are not being ripped off by those contracts?”
“<BR /> <BR />I am the newest rep to the area, and I know that reps across Lagan Valley have been advocating for those residents for a number of years, but I add my voice to theirs to ask the Northern Ireland Housing Executive, Rivers Agency and any other Department that has a responsibility to those elderly residents to come together to find fixes and to make sure that the next time there is a storm — they happen every year now — those residents will not be lying awake, fearing the worst.”
“Last week, storm Chandra wreaked havoc across Northern Ireland, and I was happy to go out to support many residents across Lagan Valley who were impacted on. I want to raise an issue related to Dromara; one that impacted on a number of elderly residents. On Friday, I spoke with Isobel, and I met Robert and Jock. They told me about devastating floods that have impacted on their properties twice in the past. Therefore, as the storm raged and the rain fell, last week, they lay awake, fearing the worst. Despite previous incidents, which cost tens of thousands of pounds of damage, no meaningful or preventative work has happened or been carried out to prevent that from happening again in the future.”
“Minister, I hope that you will listen to them. If I and other Members cannot persuade you to act, I hope that they can.”
“<BR /> <BR />If we want people to believe that we can tackle the big issues, we must prove that we can deliver on the small ones. When time is short and resources are tight, it is time for pragmatism. It is time to show people, especially our young people, that we can act to deliver change for them. I appeal sincerely to the Minister to make the change. Act now to save Assembly time, Committee resources and public money. We have the Youth Assembly before the Education Committee this week to provide evidence on the issue.”
“The same mechanism could now be used to make it clear that school uniform policies must allow girls the option to wear trousers. There is no legal barrier, cost implication or educational downside. <BR /> <BR />In the absence of that simple action from the Minister, the Committee for Education is introducing a Bill to bring about the change. We all know that primary legislation should not be necessary to correct something that could be resolved through simple, sensible guidance from the Department. It may not be the biggest issue facing the Assembly, but it may be the easiest. Unlike so many other challenges, it has something rare: political consensus. I am aware of no party that is intent on blocking the change.”
“I cannot believe that, in 2026, we are still debating the right of girls to wear trousers in school. It is not a radical proposal. Walk down any high street and you will see young women and girls wearing trousers in everyday life. Allowing the same right in school simply reflects the real world and the real practicalities that girls face. <BR /> <BR />This is not about politics or ideology but about comfort, dignity and equality. Why should girls be less comfortable or, during cold winter months, less warm simply because of outdated uniform rules? What makes it especially frustrating is that the Education Minister already has the power to act. Rightly, he is moving to amend statutory guidance to ensure that children can wear their own coat to school.”
“A recent report showed that the average monthly rent for a house in Northern Ireland had passed £1,000. How concerned is the Minister about the impact that that has on people who present as homeless?”
“I thank the Minister for the statement. How can we collaborate more across this island and with the rest of the UK to ensure that we are doing all that we can to protect our children and young people from online harms?”
“<BR /> <BR />I will end by saying that, while we work on the issues, support is out there for children and families. The PSNI, the NSPCC, Safer Schools NI, the Marie Collins Foundation and the UK Safer Internet Centre are there to provide advice. Technological progress is welcome, but we need to say together that it is not welcome at any cost, especially when it comes to the welfare of our children and young people.”
“In that context, it is time for the Education Minister to consider giving stronger backing, potentially through legislation, to guidance on mobile phone use in schools and to require schools to demonstrate how they meet their safeguarding responsibilities through the inspection process. <BR /> <BR />Of course, actions are not just for the Justice and Education Ministers to take. It is an issue on which the Executive and Assembly can and must work together more, so my ask today is that we give the area more attention, whether that be by demanding that Ofcom use all its powers to ensure that companies comply with the Online Safety Act 2023, by asking the Chief Medical Officers to look again at the evidence on the harms of social media or by coming together to a joint position on further social media regulation.”
“It is an important step in ensuring that the law keeps pace with technological change and provides meaningful protection for victims. <BR /> <BR />We all know that legislation alone will not be enough, however. The speed of change and the abuse of AI, combined with the widespread use of smartphones and social media, present daily challenges for schools, families and young people. There are, however, things that we can do as an Executive and an Assembly. For example, current guidance on mobile phone use in schools is non-statutory, yet the risks of unrestricted access are well evidenced and include cyberbullying, exposure to inappropriate content, sexual exploitation and sexual abuse.”
“I express my deep concern at reports of AI-generated explicit images being circulated among children in school settings in Northern Ireland. The incidents are serious enough to warrant police investigation. The misuse of that technology and the way in which it is proliferating without guard rails is a profound safeguarding issue. It causes devastating and lasting harm to the children targeted by the doctored images, and it exposes those creating or sharing them to the risk of committing serious criminal offences. <BR /> <BR />I welcome the work being taken forward by my party colleagues Justice Minister Naomi Long and Kate Nicholl MLA to ensure that the creation and sharing of sexually explicit AI-generated images is clearly and robustly criminalised, along with the apps that create them.”
“Minister, I am sure that you are aware that January is Cervical Cancer Awareness Month. It is absolutely imperative that we encourage women to come for screening and that they have confidence in the system when they do come. We hear today about concerns in the Northern Trust. We know what happened in the Southern Trust, and there have been concerns raised in the Western Trust as well. To ensure that women have confidence in the system, when will you call a public inquiry into the concerns in the Southern Trust and into cervical screening generally?”
“I thank the Minister for his statement. A multi-year Budget undoubtedly represents an opportunity that we all welcome. As Finance Minister, you will play a significant role in leading transformation of public services. What engagement have you had with the Education Minister around transformation of that sector, particularly on structural reform, to make our services more affordable?”
“Thank you, Minister, for the response. Will you confirm whether the recommendation of a level of need of 128% in the Holtham review has been given consideration by the UK Government?”
“There has been significant focus on the cost of school transport and of taxis in particular, which has caused concern, given the budget pressures in Education. Given the huge overspend in Education, will the Minister commit to a zero-based budgeting process to ensure that every piece of spending is justified?”
“We can create an Executive that cannot be collapsed at the whim of one party. It is our responsibility to meet the moment and to show that the Assembly has the will and the maturity to act for all our people. It is our duty to honour those who were failed, by ensuring that those mistakes are never, ever repeated.”
“No, I will not give way. <BR /> <BR />The motion calls on the Secretary of State to convene a reform process, but we should do that ourselves. If we cannot do so, we must take the conversation to the public through a citizens' assembly. Let me be clear: a citizens' assembly is not a new institution. It does not mean outsourcing our responsibilities. It is a proven model for serious, structured, civic engagement. It brings together a representative group of citizens to examine reform proposals in depth and to provide evidence-based recommendations. It strengthens political decision-making; it does not replace it. <BR /> <BR />We cannot undo the pain of the pandemic — we cannot give families back the people whom they lost — but we can learn from what went wrong. We can build institutions that serve the common good, not party interest.”
“Sinn Féin talks about being open to reform; I welcome that, and I am keen to understand what kind of reform they will support. Those of us who want to see change know that nothing can be done without those parties.”
“Maybe I should stop being surprised by that, because those are the parties that were willing to collapse the Government here for years and watch as our public services deteriorated. Even to me, however, the inquiry report feels different. It cuts through every excuse, every deflection; it shows us, in black and white, that party politics were prioritised over public safety. <BR /> <BR />I am a member of the Assembly and Executive Review Committee, and we continue to take evidence on reform of the institutions. Experts and academics tell us that the public want to see reform. They tell us what could be done and how it could be done, but it feels as though some parties on that Committee just simply dance around the issues. The DUP will not engage with the thought of changing anything while it has a veto.”
“That is wisdom and clarity from a place of grief. Her grief — her story — is one of thousands. Families have empty seats at the table because our politics failed them when they needed leadership most. That is why the report must be a tipping point. <BR /> <BR />It is absolutely intolerable that anyone in the Assembly could look at the evidence, especially the abuse of cross-community voting, and still argue that the current institutional arrangements are fine as they are. If, when an independent inquiry has shown that lives may have been lost because decision-making was paralysed by political disputes, the DUP and Sinn Féin are not willing to accept the need for reform, we must ask whether those parties are capable of change at all.”
“The purpose of the motion is not to re-litigate the failures of leadership and decision-making during COVID that have been vividly expressed by Baroness Hallett in the latest findings of the COVID-19 inquiry. At its heart, the purpose of the motion is to understand how the two largest parties in the Executive are prepared to react to them. <BR /> <BR />When I heard the finding that decision-making was "chaotic", "deeply divided" and "marred by political disputes", I know how I reacted — I was angry — but, when I listened to the reaction of those who lost loved ones, my heart broke for them. Brenda Doherty's mother, Ruth Burke, was the first local woman to die from COVID-19 here. Speaking on 'Good Morning Ulster' after the latest inquiry findings, her reaction and her call were clear:”
“Minister, I welcome the statement. I am pleased to see that you are reserving places for disabled young people on the disability forum. What collaboration has your Department had with the Department of Education to ensure that the strategy will help disabled young people to fulfil their educational potential?”
“If Members have not watched that online clip of Caleb, they should. It really is a powerful moment when he looks up and asks that question. <BR /> <BR />Investing in kids such as Caleb is not a waste of our time. They are not lost causes. We know that, if we invest in the right support at as early a stage as possible, they can thrive, contribute and inspire. As MLAs, we must keep advocating not just for them but with them. Let me assure you that Caleb's Cause will not stop until every one of our post-19 children is cared for.”
“Every MLA in the Chamber is aware of the Caleb's Cause NI campaign through the advocacy of Caleb's mum, Alma, but, at the recent session of the Disabled People's Parliament, Caleb spoke for himself. It was a powerful and moving moment when every one of us was asked to keep using our voices to support the cause of post-19 SEN reform. These are Caleb's words:”
“I will interpret that as a "No" to the question of getting those proposals by the end of 2025. <BR /> <BR />Staying with civic engagement, there is a commitment in 'New Decade, New Approach' to bring forward one to two issues a year for civic engagement, including one citizens' assembly. We are halfway through that decade. Will TEO deliver a citizens' assembly next year? Does the deputy First Minister agree that reform of the institutions is the logical first topic of discussion at that citizens' assembly? Without the institutions, we cannot deliver for any of our people.”
“I do not have any festive metaphors. I just have a simple question.”
“As an MLA, I have been warmly welcomed by both groups, and I know that their volunteers do what they do not for recognition or applause but because they care and genuinely want to improve the lives of people in our community. It is inspiring and appreciated. Congratulations to you all.”
“Commenting on the award, the chairman of Ballymacash Sports Academy, Philip Trimble, said:”
“Live Life director of services, Philip Reain-Adair, recently highlighted the type of contribution that the young people make, which includes knitting hundreds of small woollen hats for neonatal unit at the Belfast Royal Children's Hospital, bucket collecting for local charities, supporting local food banks and providing entertainment to nursing home residents. <BR /> <BR />The dedicated volunteers at Ballymacash Sports Academy show what community-led sports can achieve by giving opportunities to all regardless of age, gender or ability, improving people's mental and physical health. They have demonstrated a genuine commitment to inclusion and are focused on meeting the needs of the local community. What they have built is pretty remarkable and a credit to everyone involved.”
“I rise to congratulate two amazing organisations from our community, the Live Life Well-Being Centre and Ballymacash Sports Academy, on being awarded the prestigious King's Award for voluntary service. That is the highest honour that a volunteer-led group can receive in the UK and is often described as the MBE for organisations. To see not one but two groups from our area recognised in that way is an exceptional achievement and a testament to the incredible work that is happening on the ground in Lagan Valley. <BR /> <BR />The Live Life Well-Being Centre's recognition marks an important first because it is the first time that a group of disabled young people has received that award.”
“Thank you. What first aid training is provided to staff in Parliament Buildings, and does it include training on how to use defibrillators?”
“That is ambitious — perhaps too ambitious — but ambition is what our children need.”
“The free school meals pilot in England showed significant improvements in attainment: the equivalent of four to eight additional weeks of progress at Key Stages 1 and 2. That must be one of the most cost-effective education interventions on these islands. <BR /> <BR />Minister, if you are serious about raising standards, tackling underachievement and giving every child a fair start, universal free school meals must be part of that vision. The motion calls on the Minister to work with the Minister of Finance to develop and:”
“The food bank highlighted the predictable spike in need every school holiday, exactly the gap that the school holiday food grant once addressed, and expressed its deep regret that that scheme had ended. It told me of an eight-year-old girl who receives free school meals during term time. With her mum working part-time, the loss of the holiday payment means an additional £20 to £30 weekly food bill. The result is meal rationing and snacks being stopped. Atlas Women's Centre stressed that universal free school meals would ease pressures on families at a time when food banks are overwhelmed and community groups are stretched far beyond their capacity. It emphasised the need to reduce stigma and to ensure that no child is made to feel different because of their family's income. The evidence supports what those organisations have told us.”
“I am not so naive as to think that a programme of transformation would result in freeing up that kind of money in the short term or even within the 2030 timeline proposed in the motion, but we could make progress. We could bring more children within the threshold of free school meals. That would bolster the impact of the reforms that the Minister is introducing. Without that investment, the risk is that we undermine their impact. <BR /> <BR />The children whom we are talking about are not abstract statistics; they are children across Northern Ireland and in our Lagan Valley constituency. The organisations working on the front line understand that. Lisburn food bank, for example, provided insights for the debate. It sees the direct consequences of food insecurity daily.”
“Signposting struggling families to Public Health Agency (PHA) guidance entitled 'Are you packing a healthy lunch?' feeds into the stigma that struggling parents are simply making bad choices. We could argue that successive Education Ministers have been the ones making the bad choices by not reforming our education system to ensure that we do not duplicate resources. <BR /> <BR />I have no doubt that cross-departmental working will be crucial to expand free school meals, given the health and economic benefits that that delivers alongside educational benefits. We know that the cost to implement free school meals for pupils from nursery to P7 would be over £100 million extra.”
“Every MLA hears the same stories from parents in their constituency: families are doing everything that they can to cope with the cost of living and are still falling behind. The Department is investing in curriculum reform, literacy and numeracy initiatives and new approaches to teacher training and professional development. Those are worthy and have value, but none of them will achieve its full potential if thousands of children sit in classrooms too hungry to learn. <BR /> <BR />The Education Authority's plan to increase the cost of school meals by 20% is simply not sustainable for families who are already on the brink. Minister, I was disappointed in your response to my question for written answer asking about your assessment of the impact of those increases on children who are just outside the threshold for free school meals.”
“I wish that we did not need the motion. Echoing the comments of others, I feel confident that no Member in the Chamber does not want to see universal free school meals. The issue goes right to the heart of the pressures facing families and the pressures facing the education system. <BR /> <BR />From the start, it is important to recognise that free school meals are not simply a welfare intervention; they are an educational intervention. They improve nutrition, enhance attainment and deliver long-term social and economic benefits, yet, in Northern Ireland, around 20% of children living in poverty are not eligible for free school meals. It should be a cause for alarm for every one of us that one in five children from low-income families is deprived of that support.”
“My question is coming now. As the judgement says, it needs to be objective, critical and pluralistic, essentially welcoming to all children. Is that a vision for education in schools that the Minister disagrees with?”
“Minister, in your initial response to the judgement, for some reason, you thought to define the Alliance Party's view instead of just focusing on the impact on schools. For accuracy, my party is made up of people of deep faith and those without, which is reflective of wider society in Northern Ireland today. We believe that Christianity and religious education absolutely have a role in schools, but as the judgement says —.”
“The question, then, is this: how much more focus will this area of the curriculum and policy get from the Department, especially in supporting its expansion beyond the early years and Foundation Stage of education? <BR /> <BR />Outdoor education is proving to be so beneficial in the face of some of the most systemic issues that we face in education, and it deserves a lot more focus. A strategy would be helpful, but we should not miss out on making progress through the current curriculum review process. I have had contact from teachers who are keen to see that happening. They have bought into the great work of organisations such as NI Forest School Association and PlayBoard NI. <BR /> <BR />I will end with two quotes from teachers in a report by Field Studies Ireland into the inclusion of outdoor education in primary schools here.”