Stormont’s education minister has been urged to “go back to the drawing board” over a programme aimed at helping the most disadvantaged children in Northern Ireland.
Derry and Strabane councillors have argued the scheme is not targeting the most deprived children and therefore failing in its mission.
At a council meeting on Wednesday, Strabane Councillor Paul Boggs expressed concerns about Education Minister Paul Givan’s RAISE programme whose departmental officials had previously presented before the council.
At committee level he voiced “grave concerns” about the programme and he reiterated those views at full council.
The programme used GCSE achievement as part of its methodology by applying that to the shortlisted areas that were identified by the department as the “most disadvantaged in Northern Ireland”.
Despite having some of the most deprived areas in Northern Ireland, Strabane was not included in the shortlist.
Mr Boggs said: “I think [the Education minister] needs to go back to the Assembly and think about the concerns that have been raised at the Assembly and at consultation events such as the one that we had as a deputation.”
He requested that a letter be written to the Minister to insist on the need for the RAISE programme to be “replaced with a new programme that will target support to the schools and children that, based on objective evidence, need it most”.
The Sinn Fein councillor said the scheme is supposed to be about targeting disadvantaged children but it includes prep schools where “parents are paying £5,000 for their children to attend, where, forgive me for being cynical, I don’t think there’s an issue with academic underachievement”.
He continued: “Meanwhile, there are swathes of areas and swathes of schools that do have issues with deprivation and with academic underachievement that are completely omitted and the minister up until now hasn’t taken that onboard, hasn’t listened to the concerns of elected members or principals, more importantly.
“Because there are principals of schools crying out, not just about their schools being left out, but about the area they come from being left out and I don’t know how he is thinking he can still stand over it after that level of concern has been voiced.”
SDLP councillor Brian Tierney echoed those concerns, saying they were “reflected by everybody” at committee level.
He said the “only person that didn’t understand was the person (from the department) giving the presentation”.
“We had major concerns as well,” Mr Tierney said, “some of the schools that are included across this district are some of our best schools and I did question the rationale around suggesting they have suffered from educational underachievement.
“There are big concerns with this scheme, not only from this council, but I’ve been speaking to people in my own DEA who’ve got concerns about it as well.”
He wants the department to “see sense” and revisit this programme, as he queried the data being used.
People Before Profit Councillor Shaun Harkin repeated previous criticism saying it is “punishing poverty and rewarding wealth”.
He added: “If this is designed to address educational disadvantage in deprived areas, first and foremost, then I think the minister needs to go back to the drawing board and take on the criticisms.”
The Department of Education said: “The programme will support children and young people living in communities with high levels of educational underachievement and socio-economic disadvantage.
“This will be done by delivering interventions that meet the needs of the child and the community – with a key design feature being that it is based on where children live, not where they go to school.
“No funding has been allocated under the RAISE programme as yet, so again, any discussion on schools or community partners that may be funded is premature.”
A spokesperson added: “The Department is aware that some disadvantaged pupils that live in RAISE localities attend schools with a low proportion of pupils that are entitled to free school meals.
“The list is therefore indicative only and will be refined as the Department continues to engage with the education sector and other stakeholders.”
As part of broad education cooperation North and South, funding of up to €20million by the Irish Government through the Shared Island Fund is to be provided over the next two school years until 2025/2026, with the possibility of further funding beyond that to be agreed between both Ministers for Education.
When approached for comment following concerns raised about the scheme, a spokesperson for the Irish Government’s Education Department said: “The design and implementation of education policies and programmes in NI are a matter for the Department of Education in Northern Ireland.”
News Catch Up – Wednesday 23 October