Plans to radically reform education system ‘lack critical detail and resourcing’

A radical shake-up of education - which includes forcing young people to stay in school until they are 18 - is lacking in critical detail, it has been warned.

Minister Paul Givan plans to bring forward several recommendations made in an independent review of the education system - but there will be no short-term focus on academic selection.

Changes include raising the compulsory school leaving age from 16 to 18, commissioning a major curriculum review and increasing investment in special educational needs.

While Mr Givan told the assembly he “accepted almost all” the review’s 25 key recommendations, he has declined to tackle the thorny issue of academic selection, saying it is not one for this mandate.

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As part of his department’s response to the independent review, the Stormont minister told the Assembly that legislation could be introduced for the compulsory age of leaving school to be increased from 16.

He said he believed “participation in education beyond the age of 16 directly impacts upon life chances of young people”.

Raising the age at which a young person can leave education was among the recommendations and findings of the Independent Review of Education in Northern Ireland.

Agreed as part of the New Decade New Approach deal, the review panel examined issues such as academic selection, funding and under-achievement and provided a blueprint for how education could look in the 21st century.

The report last year made 25 key recommendations, underpinned by a further 106 areas for action, including investment in early years provision, reform of the curriculum and the qualifications system.

Mr Givan said he had accepted almost all of the recommendations.

Among those he did not commit to is academic selection, stating his department “does not propose to prioritise reform of transition arrangements to post-primary school during the current mandate”.

The review had suggested a “transition away from using a single test as a means of selection for transfer to post-primary school. Instead use a broader pupil profile”.

In addition, it said pupils should be given the “right to remain in school to take their A-levels”. Many grammar schools require pupils to achieve specific GCSE grades before allowing them to continue.

Instead, Mr Givan said the focus will be on “curriculum, qualifications and assessment”.

He told MLAs on Monday he had commissioned a review of the Northern Ireland curriculum with Lucy Crehan, an education expert, to “carry out a focused, timebound review that will examine curriculum design and delivery”.

Mr Givan said a new literacy and numeracy strategy for the north would be launched and indicated a commitment to “increased investment” particularly for pupils with special educational needs (SEN).

Any changes to legislation related to school age will require Executive approval with Mr Givan asking other parties to work with him “to make it a reality”.

Under the new proposal, pupils who choose to leave school at 16 will be required to continue education or training at an alternative institution or start an apprenticeship.

Mr Givan told the Assembly too many young people affected by poverty “continue to leave education both under-skilled and under-qualified”.

The minister said in the coming weeks he would publish a strategy setting out his plans in detail for education transformation, which will include reform in the areas of assessment, qualifications and school improvements.

He said a review of arrangements to assess pupils’ progress throughout their time in education, adding he wanted to “begin a wide-ranging conversation on the future of our qualification system”.

Mr Givan said the independent review had identified an annual gap of £155 million to address the per-pupil funding gap with England and Wales and a further £136 million shortfall related to higher levels of learners with a statement of educational need.

“Real-term cuts over recent years have had a lasting and detrimental impact on our young learners,” he said.

“I am determined to reverse the legacy of historic underfunding.”

But SDLP MLA Cara Hunter said Mr Givan’s statement failed to address many of the issues raised in the review, including detail around the proposal for pupils remaining in school or training until 18.

She said there was “scant mention of many of the other recommendations in the review” including the crisis around SEN, with Mr Givan only offering “warm words and no concrete proposals”.

People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll also said Mr Givan’s response “lacks critical detail and resourcing” adding “many questions remain unanswered, including the implications of raising the age of education participation”.

“The minister must commit to providing adequate funding and resourcing for schools and further education colleges to accompany these plans.”