Northern Ireland

Teaching union says educational reforms ‘must be implemented in full’

Delegates from the Association of School and College Leaders union will meet in Belfast today

The special educational needs system is not delivering better outcomes for young people or preventing local authorities from facing ‘significant financial risks’, Whitehall’s spending watchdog has warned
The ASCL will hold its annual conference in Belfast on Friday (Danny Lawson/PA)
By Suzanne McGonagle

A leading teaching union says educational reforms in Northern Ireland “must be implemented in full – not through a cherry-picking exercise”.

The Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) annual conference in Belfast will today hear calls from its director that a “blueprint for positive change” for education in the north needs to be fulfilled.

Amid warnings of fresh strike action at schools and continual issues surrounding budgets and recruitment, the ASCL is calling on all those involved in the education sector to “work together to overcome the many challenges”.

The ASCL represents around 200 members in more than 80 schools, across all sectors in the north.

Education Minister Paul Givan said the Strule Shared Education Campus could not proceed without the restoration of funding
Education Minister Paul Givan. PICTURE: PA

Delegates at today’s conference will also hear from Education minister Paul Givan MLA and Alliance MLA Nick Mathison, who is chair of the Stormont education committee.

Join the Irish News Whatsapp channel

John Trueman from the ASCL, who will address school leaders at the conference, said educational reforms must be “successfully” implemented.

“Looking back over the past year, the education landscape has changed significantly and we are in a very different place,” he said.

“We have a blueprint for positive change in the form of the Independent Review of Education, which must be implemented in full – not through a cherry-picking exercise.

“However, it would be remiss of me not to mention the many challenges still faced by you as school leaders.

“There is always the worry of balancing the budget and securing the necessary funding for the year ahead.

“Recruitment is not getting any easier – in fact it’s becoming more challenging."

He also said teachers are “in a place where change is afoot”.

“We have an Independent Review which offers a roadmap to meaningful change, a relatively new minister, new leadership in various education organisations, the rollout of a new inspection framework,” he said.

“We need to work together – across the sector – to get these things right. We need to do it efficiently – one working group instead of two or three across various organisations.

“We need to be solutions-focused and prepared to make difficult decisions where necessary.”