From mass teacher strikes, the appointment of the DUP’s Paul Givan as education minister and an ongoing row over the building of an Irish language school in east Belfast, Suzanne McGonagle looks back at what has happened in education in Northern Ireland in 2024.
January:
Teaching unions in Northern Ireland warned there would be “no reprieve” on planned strike action unless their pay claim was resolved. It came after the Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council, which represents the five unions, announced previously that teachers would take to the picket lines following a previous half-day strike on November 29.
On January 18, rallies and marches took place across the north next week as tens of thousands of workers staged a day of mass strike action.
February:
The DUP’s Paul Givan was appointed Stormont education minister. He said at the time that one of his first priorities was to resolve the teachers pay row.
It also emerged 10 schools in Northern Ireland had been told they would no longer get new buildings following a funding cut by the UK government.
Mr Givan urged the UK government to “recommit funding”. In a letter sent to then NI secretary of state Chris Heaton-Harris, he said the decision to cut funding would “have a disproportionate impact on the future of young people in Northern Ireland and is a matter of the highest significance”.
March:
Mr Givan visited an Irish medium school for the first time since becoming minister and enjoyed a spot of Ceili dancing in the playground. Addressing children at Gaelscoil Aodha Rua, in Dungannon, Mr Givan said the Irish language “belongs to all of us”.
There was a break-though in the education pay row when teachers voted to accept a pay offer from Mr Givan giving newly qualified teachers a starting salary of £30,000 - an increase of 24% - and current teachers given a pay rise of 10%.
Fresh life was injected into the long overdue Strule Shared Education Campus in Co Tyrone following confirmation of £150 million funding from Stormont. The Executive said it would provide the funds over the next three years.
An increase to the enrolment numbers at 21 primary and post primary schools in the north was also approved.
April:
Mr Givan announced a programme of “significant and sustained capital investment” for the development of school facilities to support children with Special Educational Needs.
There was a warning of an early years communication crisis as an increasing number of young children were unable to get speech and language therapy appointments. Figures from the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists revealed there were 4,527 children waiting for appointments in 2023, an 85% increase compared to 2021.
Unions representing further education lecturers said they had “reached agreement” in their industrial dispute with employers. Members of the UCU and NASUWT voted to accept a 8.4% uplift plus a £1,000 payment.
May:
A new law meaning teachers would no longer “be denied the opportunity to teach or to lead schools based on their religious belief” came into force. The NASUWT said the introduction of the Fair Employment (School Teachers) Bill will “tackle prejudice and hatred”. The law means teachers are able to apply for jobs without being asked about their religious backgrounds.
More strike action took place - three days of industrial action by thousands of non-teaching staff - including bus drivers, classroom assistants and canteen staff - in an ongoing dispute over pay and grade reviews.
A £25million package of measures to support children, parents and providers with early learning and childcare was unveiled. It offers all children 22.5 hours pre-school education per week and reduced childcare bills for working parents through a subsidy scheme.
Mr Givan confirmed 15 schools in Northern would get new buildings or an extension following an £80 million funding boost.
The education minister also unveiled plans for the £20 million RAISE programme aimed at reducing educational disadvantage in Northern Ireland.
June:
Industrial action planned by school support staff was called off to allow for further discussion on resolving the ongoing pay and grading dispute.
Plans were announced for a £3million investment in digital devices to support pupils’ learning, with around 8,500 new devices rolled out to replace computers in post-primary schools across the north.
Construction work began on the new £72 million Ballycastle shared education campus, which will provide a new shared school campus building for Ballycastle High School and Cross and Passion College, Ballycastle.
July:
The Executive gave the green light for the Strule shared education campus to proceed to contract award and construction. Regarded as the largest school building project ever planned in Northern Ireland, it will be located on the site of the former Lisanelly army base.
It is hoped Loreto Grammar, Christian Brothers Grammar, Omagh High School, Sacred Heart College and Omagh Academy will relocate to the campus
August:
The personal details of more than 400 people were shared by the Department of Education in a data breach. The data breach involved names, email addresses and comments made by 407 people who had had expressed an interest in contributing to a review of SEN being carried out by the department.
GCSE, AS and A level results were published with students with grading restored to pre-pandemic levels.
September:
New guidance was issued advising schools to restrict the use of mobiles throughout the day, including at break and lunch time.
It was confirmed that support staff unions had accepted the pay and grading agreement following consultation with their members.
The education minister provoked criticism after it was revealed he met with the Loyalist Communities Council (LCC), which is an umbrella group which represents the UVF, UDA and Red Hand Commando. After the discussions, the LCC said it had advised Mr Givan that a proposal to build an Irish language school in east Belfast should be stopped.
Mr Givan said the meeting was to discuss educational underachievement in loyalist areas. The integrated Irish-medium school will be the first school of its kind in the east of the city.
October:
The education minister was urged to address concerns about the RAISE initiative to “reduce educational disadvantage” after it emerged it could potentially provide money to a £5,000 a year prep school. The Irish News revealed Wallace High Preparatory and Friends School, both in Lisburn, were among 400 primary and post-primary schools listed for potential inclusion in the initiative.
Questions were raised about the criteria used to select the schools for funding amid concerns schools in deprived communities with high numbers of poor pupils were being excluded.
A radical shake-up of education, which includes forcing young people to stay in school until they are 18, was unveiled. Other changes included commissioning a major curriculum review and increasing investment in SEN. 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.
Fears of 270 job losses at Queen’s University Belfast (QUB) were revealed. More than 5% of its workforce, almost 4,800 staff in academic, research and support roles, are to be cut through voluntary redundancies.
November:
It was revealed Mr Givan went against the advice of a department official when he met the LCC. A freedom of information request, first reported by UTV, showed a Department of Education official had given advice to Mr Givan that he should decline the meeting.
Three of the largest trade unions representing teachers in Northern Ireland announced they would ballot members for industrial action over pay. It came just six months after teachers had accepted a pay offer of more than 10%.
All schools in Northern Ireland will receive a defibrillator after it was confirmed the Department of Education will provide over £700,000 of funding for Automated External Defibrillators (AEDs) in around 600 schools.
December:
The Executive agreed a new law which will require schools to make uniforms for children affordable. The School Uniforms Bill will be introduced by Mr Givan, who said some schools do not place affordability at the heart of their uniform policies.
