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Upper Bann Ulster Unionist Assembly Member George Savage MLA today spoke out in support of classroom assistants in Upper Bann. Speaking after visiting a few local schools and speaking to several classroom assistants, George said:

“I pledge my full and unequivocal support for classroom assistants. The Education Boards and the Department of Education have let them down badly. This issue should have been resolved long before now. The Boards should readily agree to make the required additional payments as they know that that as the education system has evolved over the years, so has the importance of the role of Classroom Assistant. Classroom Assistants are a vital link in the education chain and as such they deserve to be valued and thus fairly paid for their efforts.”

The cost of making the additional payments to the 7000+ Classroom Assistants is small compared to the vast budgets of the 5 Boards which currently stands at over £1Billion.

In light of this, surely the Boards have the funds available to meet the needs of the Classroom Assistants. In fact if look at the money the Boards have wasted since the decision to have a single education authority (ESA) then the funding is most definitely there:

In a statement today, UUP Education spokesman Basil McCrea said,

“Parents across Northern Ireland will be dismayed that the Education Minister has so grievously mismanaged the Classrooms Assistant dispute. Now Northern Ireland’s schools face impending industrial action, disrupting the education of our children. The blame for this state of affairs lies entirely with Caitriona Ruane.

Having spent her time as Minister pursuing ideological hobby-horses, the Education Minister has failed in her duty to address the practical issues considered to be of first importance by Northern Ireland parents and teachers.

Classroom Assistants are crucial in delivering quality education in our schools. The Minister’s high-handed approach in dismissing the case of the Classroom Assistants undermines her fine words about their importance in the education of our children. The pay, career structure and conditions of Classroom Assistants should reflect their central role in our children’s education.

Now that the Assembly has backed my Party’s motion calling on the Minister to constructively intervene, I trust that the Minister will heed the Assembly’s voice and act now to prevent disruption in our schools”.

Kenny Donaldson, an Ulster Unionist Party Officer has called for all sides involved in the ‘classroom assistants’ dispute to get around the table immediately to negotiate a resolution so that strike action might be averted.

Classroom assistants across Northern Ireland are planning a one-day strike next Wednesday unless agreement is reached over pay.

In a statement, Kenny said: “Foremost, my thoughts are with the children who neither caused nor deserve to be adversely affected because of others’ inability to act responsibly.

“The Department of Education have said that they regret the move by Classroom Assistants, which they say could “disrupt the education of some children”. If that position was to be followed through to its’ logical conclusion then they would step up their efforts at brokering a deal with classroom assistants. Inaction is neither an appropriate nor responsible position to adopt.
“The reality is that if the present situation isn’t sorted out the children’s education will suffer more. Experienced and qualified staff will be forced to leave the job and many others will be deterred from seeking employment in this field.

“The Education Assembly Committee has indicated their resolve that this debacle should be resolved equitably. Common-sense and fairness must prevail. Classroom Assistants are a key component in the developmental experience, a child receives at School; they are an essential complimentary support for Teachers. They must receive their just desserts, they must be fairly rewarded for the priceless job they do. Classroom Assistants for too long have been looked upon with disdain by elements within Government. Let’s get real - without them, Teachers could not deliver the Curriculum to the standard and efficiency which they do,” concluded Kenny.

Ulster Unionist Education spokesman and Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea today said Education Minister Catriona Ruane was dodging key questions in education. In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“We have many great schools in Lagan Valley. The threat of closure, merger or take over weighs heavily on every bodies mind. Confusion, fear and Stress stalk the classroom and those waiting outside the schools. What is happening they ask? If one of the problems with the 11+ was the stress that it induced, the current situation is 10 times worse. Some pupils in Year 5 have now started tests again. We look to the Minister for Education for some guidance and get nothing only smiles and soft words.

Her decisions appear muddled and confused. Why did she open the three schools and close the fourth. Why has she not tackled the more pressing issues which require urgent attention?

It does seem rather arrogant, provocative even and it certainly does not appear to be a strategy designed to encourage engagement, cooperative working and buy-in.

This may be a misunderstanding, I have heard her say on many occasions that she will meet with the committee and she will listen to their views but and there is always a “but”, if she can’t convince them she will then do it her way.

This does not appear to be a winning strategy, it suggests a lack of confidence, an inability to make a cogent argument and such an approach has profound implications for the long term future of this Assembly.

There are decisions to be made, hard decisions and but these decisions should not be made in an arbitrary manner. Given the divided nature of our society and the need to build a consensus before anything happens, the central role of the Assembly in this process must be respected.

When will the Minister bring forward for debate issues such as academic selection, Irish medium, numeracy and literacy, early years?

These issues are of huge interest to the public and would inform both her and the public. The Minister appears to believe that if she smiles sweetly, and uses comforting words that this will suffice. It won’t! Education in all its forms has profound implications for society and it is time we talked about the issues and made some decisions.”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has said the Executive should not use the lower birth rates as an opportunity to cut teacher numbers in its bid to make financial savings in education.

Assemblyman Dr Coulter, who served as a member of the first Assembly’s Further and Higher Education and Training Committee and was himself a college lecturer for 18 years, emphasised that public services should be governed by quality and not just cost-effectiveness.

He added that there was “an urgent need” for the Executive to begin making major choices in the direction of quality delivery of public services.

Dr Coulter continued: “In the next decade, school pupil numbers will decline as a result of lower birth rates. Instead of seeing this as an opportunity to cut down on the number of teachers and save money, the Executive should be using this as an opportunity to cut down on class sizes. This would be a positive decision in favour of quality.

“The Finnish and Danish education systems are widely recognised as among the best in the world. They also have the lowest class sizes. The Office for Standards in Education has shown that this is a key feature of education in both Finland and Denmark.

“Similarly, the Health Service should be governed by quality and not be continually eating its head off in a fatuous attempt to achieve targets which are doing little more than keeping armies of bureaucrats in jobs.

“We are going to have to shift education, training, health and all our public services on to a quality footing otherwise we cannot hope to compete with low wage economies in the Far East.

“Instead, we should be focusing more on innovation and quality and on building a high-tech, high-value added economy like the Scandanavian countries.

“We should also be looking at ways to rebuild the cohesiveness of our society and introducing a greater sense of order and responsibility among our people,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

Basil McCrea MLA, UUP Spokesman on Education warned today of the impending disaster of a Classroom Assistants

strike, and calls on the Minister for Education, Caitriona Ruane to take control of the situation.

“I am deeply concerned that the Minister for Education has refused to intervene in Classroom Assistant dispute.

Within a week, this vulnerable group of people, many of whom are women, will be forced to take a decision on

strike action. This potential disaster could and should, be averted by swift Ministerial action.”

Many Classroom Assistants are owed substantial amounts of back pay, but under the new arrangements not only will

they see this back pay slashed, but they will be forced to work longer hours, for less money. The situation is

so unfair, and potentially so serious that it is impossible to understand why the Minister of Education considers

it inappropriate for her to intervene.

The Classroom Assistants, I have spoken to, are angry and disappointed that despite the warm words of supported

from the Minister and the unanimous support of the Assembly little has been done to resolve the situation.

They are reluctant to strike, they worry about the impact on their family finances and they are acutely aware of

the impact that their actions will have on the schools, the parents and most importantly the children, but they

feel so let down, so used and abused, that many feel that strike action is the only way to resolve a situation

that is clearly unfair.

Classroom assistants are being picked on by faceless bureaucrats in a penny pinching attempt to save money. The

Minister for Education must get involved, if this were a “Foot and Mouth Emergency” the department would be

meeting now in emergency session. What is the point of having locally elected Ministers if they do not intervene

in when disaster threatens?

The Minister for Education cannot stand idly by, whilst people who do so much for our children and our society

are forced in to a corner. It is not fair on the Classroom Assistants, it is not fair on the children and for a

politician that champions equality at every opportunity, it is high time she lived up to her rhetoric.”

UUP Education spokesman and Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea today commented on pupils receiving their A level results. In a statement Mr McCrea said,

“Today’s A level results demonstrate once again the excellence of our education system. Many young people will be delighted with their individual results and it is important that we as a society offer our congratulations to them, but it is also important to commend the efforts of teachers and parents who have supported them over the last seven years.

In today’s society some people seem overly eager to devalue the achievements of young people, but I believe that the record high marks now being achieved are the product of the hard work and perseverance by our young people who are able to take advantage of the first class education offered across Northern Ireland

Our society must recognise the value of education not only to the individual but to society as a whole. The world in which we live is changing rapidly and with each day that passes it becomes more and more apparent that the ability to learn is the only enduring competitive advantage.

Without encouragement and a supportive environment many of our young people would fail to maximise their potential, and they and our society would be unable to compete in the global economy.

Within the excellent results there will be those who will feel disappointed and there will be others whose personal triumph is overshadowed by those with higher grades. We must reassure them all, that A levels are merely “Stepping stones” to the next phase of their lives, they do not define an individuals worth, and in a few short years they will be a dim and distant memory. What happens next is the really important issue and the world is full of opportunity.

Our entire education system is under pressure and given the importance of education to long term prosperity this will alarm parents, teachers and pupils. Whilst there is an undoubted need to address the plight of those for whom the educational system has not been a success, we must be careful not “to through the baby out with bathwater”. Our education system is a precious thing, we must take care to nourish and protect it and we must take every opportunity to explain the benefits and encourage all sections of our community to take advantage of the opportunities presented.”

Upper Bann Ulster Unionist Assembly Member George Savage MLA today spoke of his outrage at the amount the 5 Education Boards have spent on out-of-court settlements over the past two years and the costs incurred in relation to legal fees and compensation. Speaking from Stormont, George said,

“Having received a response from the Minister to my question I am deeply concerned about the amount of money spent by the Education Boards on out-of-court settlements over the past two years and the costs incurred in relation to legal fees and compensation”.

“I am concerned that in the Financial Year 2005/2006, the 5 Boards spent £1, 052, 453 on legal fees and compensation. I am horrified to find a 68 PERCENT increase in the Financial Year 2006/2007 where the 5 Boards spent £1,764,213. This is a complete and absolute outrage and someone must be made accountable for this gross extravagance. I call upon the Minister to investigate this and to come up with some answers that actually will carry weight and resonate with the public and those in the education sector.”

“What I find even more worrying is that we do not know how much settlements decided upon in court have cost the Department or the Boards.”

This issue is very important because it cuts right to the heart of an ongoing debate within education circles, that being, who is accountable for how money is spent and how resources are allocated?

“It is my belief that the Minister and her officials have a lot to answer for!”

“This gross overspend is ridiculous when you consider that Classroom Assistants are still fighting for a just and fair pay deal from the Department and our Primary Schools are grossly underfunded.”

“The total figure that the Boards spent on legal fees and compensation in two years was £2.8million. It is a sobering to think that this would pay for 113 teachers or 226 classroom assistants.”

“I look forward to hearing what the Department of Education has to say…”

Rev Dr Robert Coulter, the Ulster Unionist Party Assembly member for North Antrim and UUP Stormont Commissioner, has called on the Stormont Executive to ensure the needs of students are put first as the constituency’s three institutes of further and higher education merge on 1st August to form the Northern Regional College.

Dr Coulter, who was himself a college lecturer for 18 years, served as a member of the first Assembly’s Further and Higher Education and Training Committee.

“We in North Antrim will witness the merger of three institutes which have served the constituency exceptionally well over the years – Causeway, North East and East Antrim.

“We all wish the new senior management and governing body every success during this new period in further education in North Antrim.

“Whilst I know the staff and management will continue to provide the highest quality of education for the students, I would be concerned that this merger programme would place the new Super Tech in a financial straitjacket, forcing the new management to make cuts in both staff and course provision.

“In such a situation, it is always the students who suffer most. This is why I am appealing directly to the Stormont Executive to ensure it adopts the ethos of Putting Students First when it comes to funding these mergers.

“I would also call on the Executive not to use the forthcoming FE mergers as an excuse to ‘downsize’ the valuable role of the local ‘Techs’ in the life of the constituency.”

And he also called on everyone in the constituency to support their local campuses of Further and Higher Education to ensure their continued futures.

Assemblyman Dr Coulter said the local ‘Techs’ serving North Antrim had progressed over the years to become some of the central hubs in the constituency’s educational sector.

“The concepts of lifelong learning and adult education are vital to building an efficiently trained workforce in our constituency. Clearly one of the implications of such mergers will be to identify areas where savings can be made in administrative duplication in FE.

“This is so that the cash saved can be spent on the educational needs of the community and the development of our constituency’s new Northern Regional College in particular.

“It is vital this merger process does not become a blueprint by the Executive to downsize the FE sector in Northern Ireland. It is equally important there is no attempt to ‘dumb down’ the types of courses and training which our institutes provide.

“The FE sector has played a vital role in the life of the community in the North Antrim area and funding should be made available so that the campuses can continue to stand at the centre of our community. The importance of the role of FE in the community has not been fully recognised by educational theorists.

“FE, through the ‘Techs’ and now the regional college, has made a major contribution to society in the region. It gave young people - who perhaps had not achieved as well as they would have liked at school - another chance to carve out a meaningful career with recognised qualifications.

“FE has also made a significant contribution in the non-vocational sector where young people were allowed to develop a satisfying and worthwhile hobby or educational interest alongside an older generation.

“The present set-up in the FE sector is cash driven. This has denied the community many of its non-vocational classes. The ‘pay as you learn’ system being adopted is a copycat approach to an American educational system and I do not think it will achieve the objectives being set out by educational theorists.

“FE should be a blend of the vocational and non-vocational aspirations of the community and our campuses in North Antrim should be at the centre of activity throughout the week in the community.

“However, the community has its role to play, too, in ensuring the future of its local campus. It can support its local campus by enrolling in part-time or full-time classes which will benefit their learning experience or advance their qualifications.

“There continues to be much speculation about this rationalisation programme within the FE sector. As members of the community, it is imperative that all of us, young and old alike, play our part in the fight to ensure the future of the Northern Regional College campuses which serve our North Antrim constituency,” said Assemblyman Dr Coulter.

Rev Dr Robert Coulter MLA, Ulster Unionist Assemblyman for North Antrim, has called for increased penalties for attacks on teachers similar to his proposed new law to increase penalties on those who attack health workers.

In Minister’s Question Time at Stormont, Dr Coulter proposed the idea to Education Minister Catriona Ruane who responded by promising to put this matter on the agenda of her meetings with Health Minister Michael McGimpsey.

The Minister continued: “My Department is currently reviewing the available guidance on security and personal safety in schools and the support available to staff, and I have asked that the review should include consideration of protocols, particularly in the Health Service, but also in other organisations.”

Dr Coulter commented : “We must recreate a new culture of respect in society and deal with people who are out of control and breaking the normal rules of a civilized society. The days of anything goes are well and truly over. This means that thugs who attack health workers and hooligans who attack teachers should get sharp and instant punishment. I am pleased with the Minister’s positive response because I know Minister McGimpsey is already working seriously on my proposals for attacks on health workers.”