Fewer schools and 'cashless' meals in education reform plans

Fewer schools and "cashless" school meals are included in a five-year plan to reform education in Northern Ireland.

Changes to home-to-school transport, special educational needs (SEN), and the way some teachers are employed are also being proposed by Education Minister Paul Givan.

The reform plans, drawn up by the Department of Education (DE), will be presented to the Northern Ireland Assembly and Executive for approval.

Givan told BBC News NI he "wouldn't want to take forward" some of the proposed measures, but they would be necessary if his department was not given more money when the executive agrees a budget.

BBC News NI has spoken to a number of sources for detail on the specific proposals.

There are five main areas of reform.

Some of the proposed changes to support for children with SEN are likely to be most controversial.

A recent review of Northern Ireland's education system recommended fewer classroom assistants be employed for children with SEN.

"Existing methods of supporting children and young people with special needs should be evaluated with a view to disseminating good practice and reducing the current over-reliance on classroom assistants," it said.

Fewer schools are also likely to be needed in future as the number of children of school age declines.

According to DE's own population projections, pupil numbers in schools are expected to fall by over 12% over the next decade.

As a result, the proposed changes include restructuring the school estate, which would mean more school closures or mergers in some areas.

In the Republic of Ireland, under a redeployment scheme, teachers can be moved to work in a different school if their own school has too many teachers.

BBC News NI understands that a similar scheme is planned for Northern Ireland.

It would mean that schools who are in financial deficit could find some of their teachers redeployed to work in another school in the surrounding area if it was deemed necessary.

That would reduce their staff costs.

At present, around 70% of all schools in Northern Ireland are in budget deficit.

Under the reform plan, all meal payments by pupils are likely to be cashless.

This is already the case in some schools, such as Bangor Academy where the system is popular.

Phoebe, who is a pupil at the school, told BBC News NI that it is a "good system".

"I don't have to worry about losing money and I can just tap my fingerprint."

Another pupil, Layla, said it is "better than bringing cash in, because it's easier" and you "just scan and then you're ready to go".

Imogen described the cashless system as "really good", because "you're not worrying if you forget to bring money with you".

There are likely to be fewer school kitchens with the creation of 'super kitchens', where a kitchen in one school supplies meals to some surrounding schools.

This happens in some areas already.

Home-to-school transport is also likely to face reform, with changes to who is judged eligible for free transport to school.

The Education Authority (EA) has already made savings by changes to school taxi contracts.

The draft budget, recently published by Finance Minister John O'Dowd of Sinn Féin, has not yet been agreed by other executive parties but has been heavily criticised by the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

O'Dowd said he was "in listening mode" if other ministers had alternative proposals.

But school heads had been warned by the department that they could face "painful cuts" as a result of the budget.

They have been told to restrict the appointment of new staff and limit the use of substitute teachers to save money.

Though some are likely to prove controversial and they would have to get agreement from other ministers in the Stormont Executive.

Other executive departments, like health, have previously announced plans for reforms to services.

Speaking to BBC News NI ahead of the presentation of the proposals at Stormont on Wednesday Givan said the plans will go out for public consultation.

But he stressed his department was asked to produce a five-year plan by the Department of Finance in light of O'Dowd's draft budget.

"There are some measures on this that I wouldn't want to take forward," Givan said, adding that he had to respond to a draft budget he "didn't support".

"The public will have their say, stakeholders will be able to respond to this," he said, but added that these proposals are what is needed to be considered "if we are to create financial sustainability" within education.

Givan said if more money is allocated to his department when the executive agrees a budget, then some of these measures will not need to be implemented.

"No decisions have been taken by me, but I am in a situation where I am already facing a £250m deficit this year," Givan said.

"That will rise next year to £0.9bn and will increase further in the following financial year by over £1bn."

On any potential changes to SEN in schools, Givan said that five years ago his department was spending £250m a year on SEN, but last year it spent £715m, adding that even with the additional spending, "that outcome has not been what it should be".

"I have listened to countless principals who have said there is a better way to support children and to support other children within their school.

He said: "We could give a dedicated special educational needs budget directly to schools.

"They can allocate expenditure to meet that need – that may be classroom assistants, it may be employing an additional teacher and having a smaller class setting, it could be the addition of a youth worker, counsellor, or speech and language therapist.

"I think we need to give greater flexibility to our schools so that expenditure is more effective than what it currently has been."

Nicola McSherry from Saintfield is a special needs classroom assistant in Carryduff.

She has three children, her eldest son has down syndrome and her youngest also has special needs.

McSherry told BBC News NI that reducing the number of classroom assistants for children with SEN would be "detrimental to many kids".

"If you have just one assistant, then that is huge mayhem in a classroom where kids can't cope."

She believes this could lead to "school refusal", or children struggling and not wanting to attend school.

It can also affect their home life, McSherry told BBC News NI.

"They can go two ways, they can be really withdrawn at home or they just can be really disruptive... it's very hard to manage and very hard to watch as a parent."

Justin McCamphill, who is from the teaching union NASUWT, said the plans are "causing concerns all round".

"This is a shock to the system. I think a lot of parents, teachers, school leaders will be very apprehensive."

He said the proposal to redeploy teachers "won't go down well at all".

"It's being done within the context of removing teachers from schools and downsizing the workforce. That's something we'd be opposed to," McCamphill said.

Patrick Mulholland from NIPSA told The Nolan Show that last Monday non-teaching trade unions submitted notice to the EA that they were in dispute on the issue of cuts and the next move would be a ballot for industrial action.

He said education cuts mean "children will be damaged, parents are going to be hit and communities are going to be devastated".

Máire Thompson, principal of Hazelwood Integrated College in north Belfast, told the Evening Extra programme that the proposals are "the right thing".

"I think the Minister has been brave in putting out there some decisions that need to be undertaken," Thompson said.

She added that the "system is not fit for purpose at the minute" and "there are going to have to be some tough decisions".

"This is a consultative document, it's not a done deal as yet and the important thing is that stakeholders engage with all the aspects and all the proposals."

Thompson said there are "parts of this that are not going to suit everybody" but that everything should be "fair, equitable, transparent, open" and there is "good communication between the department and the unions".