Paul Givan: ​Change is coming to ensure Northern Ireland has a truly world class education system

I took up the post conscious not only of the many great strengths of the education system in Northern Ireland, but also the enormous challenges which it faces. I inherited long running industrial action by teachers and support staff which has taken a heavy toll, a growing investment backlog across the schools’ estate and a system struggling to provide suitable school places for children with special educational needs in a timely manner.

The closure of schools to deal with the threat from covid-19 has negatively impacted all our children but most especially those from more deprived backgrounds. The pandemic created huge challenges around attendance, mental health and inequalities that continue to impact on wider society.

Education prepares our children and young people for work, life and citizenship and is critical to our future prosperity and sustained economic growth.

Devolution is about making a difference. Having previously served as both first minister and communities minister, I was determined to hit the ground running. In the first 100 days, I visited over 30 schools including schools across every county and every sector as well as numerous pre-school and other education and community settings.

In doing so, I have been deeply impressed by the dedication and hard work of our school leaders, teachers and support staff. That’s why I was delighted to have secured the funding made available by the UK government on the restoration of an executive to resolve the long running industrial action by teachers.

I want to make sure our support staff also get a fair deal and that is why the executive has agreed that the finance minister should approach HM Treasury to allow us to access funding set aside for future years to resolve this matter. The suspension of industrial action to allow for further negotiation is a positive step towards resolution of the pay and grading review for our support workers.

The Education Authority, which is responsible for delivering a wide range of important public services across NI, has since its establishment faced significant operational challenges. I was delighted to have secured the experience of a NI Civil Service Permanent Secretary to lead the continued transformation of the organisation. Over time I believe this will make a real difference to children, parents and schools.

In May I announced the biggest step change to education planning for a generation, with an ambitious programme of investment in facilities for children with special educational needs, which will transform the education and lives of our most vulnerable children and their families. My officials work closely with the Education Authority to help it address the challenge of creating additional school places for the rapidly increasing number of children with special needs.

I have also secured executive agreement to provide £150million of earmarked additional funding over the next three years to deliver the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh. It will bring together 4,000 children and young people from all community backgrounds on a vibrant and dynamic education campus of world and international renown.

In the assembly, I defended the right of schools and boards of governors to decide what is best for their learners against some at Stormont who think they know better and want to impose their own ideology on our children.

The executive has made early learning and childcare a priority and I am delighted that a £25million package of measures to support children, parents and providers with early learning and childcare from September, has now been signed off.

This is the most significant enhancement of early years investment in Northern Ireland in decades. We know from experience that good early years provision can be life changing. The measures proposed will not only help to level the playing field for under-privileged children, but also to provide much needed support for working parents and families.

I recently announced an additional £80million of capital funding for education this year, which will allow 15 important new build and extension and refurbishment projects for schools from all sectors to proceed to construction, as well as the launch of a new programme of curriculum-led investment. I also announced a £20million programme of investment to deliver community informed approaches to raise achievement to reduce educational disadvantage.

It’s not just about what money we have to spend, but how we choose to spend it.

I will respond to the important recommendations contained in the Independent Review of Education and make significant announcements which will begin to shape our education system for the next generation.

International evidence shows that the quality of an education system cannot exceed the quality of its teachers. Everything we have been through in recent years has only served to underline the difference teachers make to young lives. That’s why I want us to attract the brightest and best to the profession. That means paying people what they are worth, but also ensuring that they are appropriately supported and have good quality continuing professional development throughout their careers. We want a curriculum which is based on international best practice and is proven to reduce inequality in education and schools where teaching methods are informed by what is best for our children’s learning. We want qualifications which are based on the maximum time for teaching and learning and not taking and retaking exams. We need to ensure our qualifications continue to be internationally respected and accepted.

We need system level assessment data at key stages one, two and three so that parents know that schools are delivering for their children and we understand how to continue to improve our system, particularly in the important areas of literacy and numeracy. And we need to see the resumption of school inspections which have largely been absent for a decade.

It must be the interests of children which shape and determine policy. We must drive up standards with high expectations for every child and a consistent belief that, with the right support, every pupil can achieve the highest standards.

By the autumn, I also hope to make a significant announcement on the way controlled schools – that’s most schools in the state sector - are managed by the Education Authority. Current arrangements have served them poorly compared to other sectors. That is going to change.

Next week I will also launch a consultation on school uniforms to make sure no families are excluded from the school of their choice for cost reasons.

None of this is easy in a constrained financial environment, but we cannot wait another generation for changes which are needed right now. I intend that the next three years will be a period of both renewal and reform as together we focus on ensuring that we make improvements to both education administration and delivery which will ensure a truly world class education system for decades to come.

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Paul Givan is DUP MLA for Lagan Valley and education minister