Conclusions and recommendations
Introduction and political context
1.As long as the Assembly remains absent, the normal routes through which elected representatives would usually scrutinise education in Northern Ireland are unavailable. As a result, it has not been possible to scrutinise properly the delivery of this vital public service, or to hold decision-makers to account. This is an unacceptable state of affairs. We recommend that, as long as the Assembly remains absent, the Department of Education and the Education Authority commit to appearing at our Committee at least annually to provide an update on the state of education funding. We recommend that, as long as the Assembly remains absent, the Department of Education and the Education Authority commit to appearing at our Committee at least annually to provide an update on the state of education funding. (Paragraph 8)
2.The political deadlock at Stormont has meant that the education system has been unable to respond to the urgent challenges facing schools. Educators told us that with no political solution in sight, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland should be prepared to take decisions so that the school system can make progress on existing policy priorities. We recommend that, if the Executive is not reformed by October, the Secretary of State should lay before Parliament those education regulations required by Acts already agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and on which the Department of Education has consulted. The Secretary of State should also be prepared to take further steps, in consultation with the Department of Education and relevant stakeholders in Northern Ireland, when these are necessary to meet key education objectives. We recommend that, if the Executive is not reformed by October, the Secretary of State should lay before Parliament those education regulations required by Acts already agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly and on which the Department of Education has consulted. The Secretary of State should also be prepared to take further steps, in consultation with the Department of Education and relevant stakeholders in Northern Ireland, when these are necessary to meet key education objectives. (Paragraph 12)
Education in Northern Ireland
3.We heard concerns about the support provided to schools by the Education Authority following the amalgamation of the Education and Library Boards. Issues raised included a lack of staffing capacity and expertise, a lack of clarity around responsibilities within the organisation, and the EA’s limited oversight of schools’ financial management. The upcoming review of the Education Authority is timely, and will provide an opportunity to evaluate its work. Given the EA’s importance within the sector we expect the Department and the EA to take a proactive approach to addressing the concerns raised in this report. As part of its five year review of the Education Authority, the Department of Education should specifically examine: whether: the EA has sufficient resource and capacity to perform its functions; the EA’s services are delivering value for money when compared to the previous regional model; decision-making within the organisation is sufficiently transparent; the EA has sufficient powers to hold schools accountable for the way they manage their finances; the EA is making sufficient use of those powers. In responding to this report, the Department should set out the terms of reference for the review. (Paragraph 31)
4.We welcome the ongoing review into procurement, which was a priority concern for many of the Controlled and Maintained schools we spoke to. We believe there is scope for substantial savings in this area and expect that this review will allow these to be promptly realised. Once the review of procurement is complete, the Department should update this Committee (or the relevant Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly if it is constituted) with its findings and its plan for implementation. (Paragraph 39)
The education budget and school funding
5.We heard a consistent message that the education budget is not sufficient to meet rising pressures on schools while the system remains in its current form. Independent of this issue, however, there is a clear need to properly fund the existing education system to meet rising demand so that the current generation of children receive the excellent education they deserve. We recommend that future budget allocations to the Department of Education rise not only in line with inflation, but in proportion to the number of pupils in the school system in order to reflect increasing pupil numbers and the associated demand for additional staff. We examine the organisation of the school estate and make further recommendations in Chapter 4. (Paragraph 51)
6.We welcome the announcement in the 2018 Budget Statement that Northern Ireland will receive additional funding in 2020–21 and in the upcoming Spending Review. However, in the absence of functioning devolved institutions it is not clear how Northern Ireland can exercise its usual discretion in the way this money will be spent. The Northern Ireland Office should, in responding to this report, explain how decisions will be taken on how the Barnett consequentials arising from the 2018 UK Budget will be spent. The Secretary of State should be prepared to authorise the allocation of funds to areas of acute public service need, consulting with the Department of Finance and the major political parties in Northern Ireland to ensure there is consensus for such an approach. (Paragraph 52)
7.In the absence of an Assembly the education budget has been set on a rolling annual basis, with the consequence that schools and sectoral bodies have not been able to plan for the future of education. This has been an obstacle to investment and improvement in children’s education. We recognise the UK Government’s reservations about setting long-term budgets while there is the prospect of the Assembly being restored. However, we believe that it is not in the long term interests of education for the current uncertainty to continue. (Paragraph 60)
8.The UK Government should work with the Department of Education and Department of Finance as part of the upcoming Spending Review to produce provisional three-year budget allocations for the Department of Education. (Paragraph 60)
9.Many of the teachers and principals we spoke to did not know how the Department of Education had spent the money obtained through the Confidence and Supply Agreement, and some believed they had not benefitted from this funding at all. The Department should proactively contact schools to set out how the 2019–20 allocation of Confidence and Supply funding is spent and make this information clearly available to the general public so that decisions on this spending can be properly scrutinised. (Paragraph 73)
10.We heard that Confidence and Supply money was largely used to maintain existing provision, and that without it further cuts would have been necessary. This raises the alarming prospect that once the deal expires there will be a substantial funding gap that threatens the continuation of vital programmes. We recommend that, in anticipation of the end of the current Confidence and Supply Agreement funding period, Ministers say how they will respond to the exhaustion of the additional funding for the programmes supported by the Agreement in 2017–18 and 2018–19.
11.We welcome the Government’s decision to allow unspent money from the first two years of the Fresh Start Agreement to be carried over into future years. The long-term nature of capital projects means it may be necessary to allow further money to be carried over to avoid it being lost. The Government should continue to allow underspends in Fresh Start funding to be carried over into future years, as it did in 2016–17 and 2017–18. (Paragraph 75)
12.We heard a number of concerns about the way school budgets are allocated through the Common Funding Formula. In current circumstances it is more important than ever to ensure that funding is being directed where it can do the most good. The Department of Education should carry out a review of the Common Funding Formula to identify whether a fairer and more efficient balance of funding can be achieved. The review should examine the balance of funding across key stages, funding that targets social deprivation and funding for smaller schools, and whether the current balance between money held centrally and money delegated directly to schools achieves the best possible value for money. The Department should complete this review by the end of the financial year. (Paragraph 90)
13.Many schools told us that too great a proportion of funding was held centrally, and they wanted to see an increase in their delegated budgets. Not all schools shared this view however, and it was acknowledged that any delegation of functions would bring additional responsibilities that some schools would neither want nor have capacity to manage. Nevertheless, we heard that the proportion of the budget held centrally could be reduced by around 5 per cent. We recommend that there is merit in revisiting proposals to give Controlled and Maintained schools greater financial flexibility where they desire to do so. We recommend that, starting with the next annual budget cycle, the Department pilot arrangements through which Controlled and Maintained schools can gain greater financial freedoms in the same vein as Voluntary Grammar and Grant-Maintained Integrated schools. (Paragraph 91)
Area Planning and the school estate
14.There is widespread agreement that the way education in Northern Ireland is organised does not make the best use of resources. We heard that better allocation of resources could improve the quality of education for all children, and there remains scope for change while continuing to meet the demand for different models of education that exists in the province. Based on the evidence we received, we believe that a broad ambition for the education sector should be to consolidate the school estate so that resources can be concentrated in fewer schools, giving greater scope for an enriched, broadened school experience. The Department and the Education Authority should use this as its guiding principle when taking decisions about school provision. (Paragraph 103)
15.Ultimately these decisions are for the people of Northern Ireland to take, and no single approach will be right for every community. Consultation is therefore an essential part of this process, so that parents and communities are truly included in these decisions and their concerns respected. The Department of Education should use part of the public sector transformation fund allocated in the 2019–20 draft budget to run community consultations on school provision, so that communities have a real stake in decision-making rooted in their desired outcomes. (Paragraph 104)
16.Departments in Northern Ireland have been without ministerial direction for more than two and a half years. The Department of Education has judged—in our view correctly—that it should still take decisions on school Development Proposals. Throughout our inquiry we heard consistent evidence on the urgent need for improvements to Northern Ireland’s school estate. This is clearly an immediate strategic priority for the sector. We recommend that, if no Executive is formed by October, the Department of Education should issue a call for new capital projects, consulting with key stakeholders and the political parties to ensure widespread confidence in its approach. We recommend that, if no Executive is formed by October, the Department of Education should issue a call for new capital projects, consulting with key stakeholders and the political parties to ensure widespread confidence in its approach. (Paragraph 114)
Special Educational Needs and Disability
17.Witnesses told us that the number of children requiring support with Special Educational Needs and Disability was increasing rapidly, and that this was one of the most significant pressures on the Education Authority’s budget and on individual schools. It is clear that the system does not currently have the resources it needs to meet demand for SEND support. We recommend that future budget allocations to the Department of Education reflect the increasing number of children with Special Educational Needs and Disability in the Northern Ireland school system, so that these children can be identified and assessed at the earliest age possible and appropriate support can be put in place. (Paragraph 127)
18.Witnesses identified shortcomings in the way children with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities are supported. Action was being taken to remedy this before the collapse of the Stormont institutions, and the Assembly passed legislation establishing a clear agenda for change. The Department has progressed this work as far as it can, but in the absence of an Assembly work has stalled. The Secretary of State should lay before Parliament consequential regulations and documents arising from the Special Educational Needs and Disability Act (Northern Ireland) 2016 and the Children’s and Young People’s Co-operation Act (Northern Ireland) 2015 in order to give full effect to those Acts and so improve the support offered to children with SEND. (Paragraph 131)
19.The funding arrangements for special schools are not transparent, and it is not possible to tell whether this money is being well spent. While we accept that these schools cannot be funded according to a simple formula, the more transparency the Department is able to provide the better. In responding to this report, the Department should set out which key factors it considers when determining special school budgets. (Paragraph 135)
Teachers and pay
20.Teachers in Northern Ireland have continued to deliver an excellent education for their pupils in increasingly challenging circumstances. However, they have seen their wages stagnate at the same time as their counterparts elsewhere in the UK are receiving increases, and wages in the sector are considerably lower than those in the Republic of Ireland. This is deeply unfair to Northern Ireland’s teachers, and must be corrected. One obstacle remains the lack of an Executive, which would need to sign off a new pay deal. Another concern is that schools’ budgets are under immense pressure, and it is unlikely that most would be able to afford the cost of a pay rise. The Secretary of State should issue guidance that if a final settlement is agreed to resolve the present industrial action, and there is no Executive in place to approve it, the Permanent Secretary may authorise it. We recommend that the agreed pay settlement for teachers is funded centrally, with adjustments being made to the Department of Education’s budget where needed. (Paragraph 150)
21.The Department of Education told us that it had committed to covering the cost of staff cover so that school staff could attend training courses relating to Special Educational Needs. This is a welcome step, and we recommend that the Department continue and extend this approach. The Department should cover the cost of supply cover when school staff attend training courses in areas for which there is a clear need, including, but not limited to, financial management and school leadership skills. (Paragraph 155)
22.We heard that teachers and school leaders are working harder than ever under extraordinary pressure, at a cost to their wellbeing. We welcome the Education Authority’s work on staff health and wellbeing. However, we also heard the need for a more strategic approach. The Department and the EA should commit to establishing a health and wellbeing strategy for teachers, school staff and school leaders. The Department should publish a draft strategy for consultation before the end of year. (Paragraph 159)
Published: 22 July 2019