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The answers below speak of
- Governance Status of Schools
- Funding for Prep pre-schools (Executive Approval)
- Funding for Prep pre-schools (Equality Impact Assessment)
Governance Status of Schools
Mr M Storey asked the Minister of Education to confirm if her Department is currently reviewing, or has any plans to review, how the existing management or governance status of schools is defined, altered or changed.
(AQW 4710/10)Minister of Education: My Department has reviewed the existing management or governance status of grant-aided schools in the context of the Review of Public Administration.
The Education Bill provides for some minor changes to the constitution of school Boards of Governors to take account of the establishment of the ESA. Under Clause 35 of the Bill, ESA, as the funding authority of all grant-aided schools, will take on responsibility for the recruitment and appointment of DE and ELB governors who will then be renamed community governors. Several amendments have been tabled to Clause 35. These include a change to the definition of community governors to include the community served by the school and a provision that their appointment should follow consultation with the relevant Board of Governors. I am content to support both amendments at Consideration Stage of the Bill. However, I am still awaiting Executive agreement on the amendments on the amendments which I am proposing to move or support at Consideration Stage.......
.... The Education (No 2) Bill will provide for each controlled school to be under the control and management of its Board of Governors. This is designed to place all school Boards of Governors on a comparable position with regard to school management arrangements.
The mechanisms by which the governance and management arrangements of a school can be changed are:
- by means of a School Development Proposal under Article 14 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986;
- by the transfer of a voluntary school to controlled status under Article 17 of the Education and Libraries (NI) Order 1986;
- by the initiation of procedures for the acquisition of grant maintained integrated status under Articles 69 to 78 of the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989;
- by the initiation of procedures for the acquisition of controlled integrated status under Articles 91 to 99 of the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989;
- by the establishment of a new controlled, voluntary or independent school in the premises of a former grant maintained integrated school under Article 83 of the Education Reform (NI) Order 1989.
Funding for Preparatory Pre-schools
Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Education if her proposal to withdraw funding for preparatory pre-schools requires Executive approval.
(AQW 4793/10)Minister of Education: The Independent Strategic Review of Education (known as the Bain Report), published in December 2006, highlighted the issue of the funding of Preparatory Schools. In respect of the allocation of the education budget, it stated:
"Equity must continue to be at the heart of this distribution. For this reason, the part-funding of fee-charging preparatory departments in grammar schools is anomalous. This aspect of delegation subsidises provision that can only be accessed by children whose parents can pay the requisite fee. This would seem to be an inequitable use of public funds and counterintuitive in a funding system simultaneously managing the pressures of a high level of surplus capacity. The rationale for this aspect of schools-related current expenditure should be reviewed and its continuation considered with regard to equity and in the context of the significant pressures on the education budget".
One of the key recommendations of the Bain Report (recommendation 5) was that:
"The rationale for funding preparatory departments in grammar schools should be reviewed".
The Equality Commission has adopted a position where it considers that a key component of a quality education system is the provision of equality of access to good education. In relation to its position on the funding of Preparatory Departments, the Commission has stated that:
"Preparatory Departments inherently do not provide equality of access as attendance is dependant on a parents /families ability to pay additional substantial costs. We do not believe a public subvention to this sector is the best possible use of public funds when there are other areas that we have prioritised for intervention in the above document". ("Above document" refers to Every Child an Equal Child) .....
... In line with this recommendation my Department commissioned the Department of Finance and Personnel to undertake a review of funding to preparatory departments of grammar schools and to provide a report on their findings to the Department.
The report concludes that the Department should consider the withdrawal of funding to preparatory departments on the basis of equality of access.
I have accepted the main findings in the report and have indicated that the recommendation to withdraw funding from preparatory departments should be subject to an Equality Impact Assessment before a final decision on implementation is taken.
The draft Equality Impact Assessment went out for consultation on 7 January 2010 and the deadline for responses is 4 March 2010.
The proposal to withdraw funding from preparatory departments of grammar schools does not require Executive approval as it does not fall under the list of duties as outlined in section 2.4 of the Ministerial Code.
Funding for Preparatory Pre-schools
Mr A Easton asked the Minister of Education if her proposal to withdraw funding for preparatory pre-schools will be subject to an Equality Impact Assessment before any final decision.
(AQW 4794/10)Minister of Education: The Independent Strategic Review of Education (known as the Bain Report), published in December 2006, highlighted the issue of the funding of Preparatory Schools. In respect of the allocation of the education budget, it stated:
"Equity must continue to be at the heart of this distribution. For this reason, the part-funding of fee-charging preparatory departments in grammar schools is anomalous. This aspect of delegation subsidises provision that can only be accessed by children whose parents can pay the requisite fee. This would seem to be an inequitable use of public funds and counterintuitive in a funding system simultaneously managing the pressures of a high level of surplus capacity. The rationale for this aspect of schools-related current expenditure should be reviewed and its continuation considered with regard to equity and in the context of the significant pressures on the education budget".
One of the key recommendations of the Bain Report (recommendation 5) was that:
"The rationale for funding preparatory departments in grammar schools should be reviewed".
The Equality Commission has adopted a position where it considers that a key component of a quality education system is the provision of equality of access to good education. In relation to its position on the funding of Preparatory Departments, the Commission has stated that:
"Preparatory Departments inherently do not provide equality of access as attendance is dependant on a parents /families ability to pay additional substantial costs. We do not believe a public subvention to this sector is the best possible use of public funds when there are other areas that we have prioritised for intervention in the above document". ("Above document" refers to Every Child an Equal Child)
In line with this recommendation my Department commissioned the Department of Finance and Personnel’s, Business Consultancy Service, to undertake a review of funding to preparatory departments of grammar schools and to provide a report on their findings to the Department.
The report concludes that the Department should consider the withdrawal of funding to preparatory departments on the basis of equality of access
I have accepted the main findings in the report and have indicated that the recommendation to withdraw funding from preparatory departments should be subject to an Equality Impact Assessment before a final decision on implementation is taken.....
.... The draft Equality Impact Assessment went out for consultation on 7 January 2010 and the deadline for responses is 4 March 2010. Details are available on the Department’s website under ‘Current Issues.’
Equality Impact Assessments
Dr S Farry asked the Minister of Education what measures are included within Equality Impact Assessments conducted by her Department to ensure that the interests of people with identities outside the two perceived main traditions in Northern Ireland are taken into account.
(AQW 4971/10)Minister of Education:
The Departments guidance on undertaking an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) is available to all staff through the department’s Intranet Site. During an EQIA process all sources of information both internal and external should be considered to gauge the impact on all section 75 groups including those religious groupings outside the main two traditions. In addition the department has 450 groups and individuals which reflect the full and diverse range of section 75 groups which are consulted during the EQIA process.
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