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Ruane admits delay in setting up education body
Saturday, 21 November 2009
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Failure to establish the new single education authority by the deadline of January 1 will leave a multi-million pound hole in the education budget, the education minister has warned.
Caitriona Ruane has finally admitted it is “very unlikely” that she will be able to establish the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) by the new year — a year and nine months later than planned.
She stressed that millions of pounds in savings due to be achieved as a result of the streamlining of administration will now have to be found from elsewhere.
In a letter addressed to all staff in the affected organisations, Ms Ruane said she plans to discuss the earliest possible date that the ESA can be established with her executive colleagues. She said she would put new arrangements in place so they could continue to deliver much needed services to children and young people.
It is understood that the minister is considering putting commissioners in place to run the education boards on a temporary basis — but she has refused to confirm or deny these plans.
Yesterday it emerged that education chiefs have written to the Department of Education’s permanent secretary Will Haire to raise serious concerns about the transfer to ESA.
Donal Flanagan, chief executive of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, said that the morale of his staff has been “significantly undermined” by “the current ad hoc and piecemeal approach”.
“In the light of an ongoing haemorrhage of senior and other staff it is most unlikely that I can extend my previous assurances on service continuity beyond January 1 2010,” he warned.
Ms Ruane said that work to reform the administration of education will continue.
“If the political will exists, the executive objective of January 1 2010 for the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority, could still be achieved,” she said.
“I will, however, in the coming days, announce interim plans to ensure a smooth transition between the current structures and ESA in the absence of political goodwill in achieving the executive decision to have ESA in place by January 1 2010.
“A reconstitution of the boards as currently constructed is not an option. It is neither practical nor in line with stated executive policy for radical reform of the education system. The delay in establishing ESA has meant that savings of £21m in total costs of excess bureaucracy, which are already factored into our financial plans, have yet to be achieved. Savings that could have gone straight to frontline services in schools.
“Those savings will now have to be found in other areas and this will be a huge challenge.”
The DUP’s Mervyn Storey said: “We have to make sure that the structures are right before ESA is established. If it was to go ahead now the controlled schools sector would not be protected.
“ESA will not be up and running by January 1 unless a huge amount of work takes place.”
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PACE - "There is no anti-catholic sentiment from PACE merely a recording of the facts".
Humm………. methinks PACE is changing his tune, remember how he categorised the revised curriculum as an 'attack on the protestant world view'; how he accuses the Department of Education of deliberately manipulating statistics to show Catholic managed schools out performing the controlled sector?
I hope that PACE has changed his tune, now we just have to wait till he sees the light on selection, time will tell!!
Posted by Exasperated | 30.11.09, 15:37 GMT
Exasperated. Do calm down. Have you a problem with literacy? PACE exposed the fact that the Education Minister approved the transformation of a controlled school PRIOR to the beginning of the new school year. The actual enrolment was 2.2% - nowhere close to the 10% required and similar to the historic minority enrolment figure. Given that there two integrated primaries in Antrim one must ask the question - where are the Catholic pupils going post-primary? Where is the demand claimed by the NEELB in their development proposal? There is no anti-catholic sentiment from PACE merely a recording of the facts. If you wish to dispute the facts please offer your evidence and take it up with the DENI. It does you a disservice to invoke sectarian attacks. Shall we deal with ESA next?
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 27.11.09, 22:06 GMT
PACE OMG! The end of civilization as we know it CATHOLICS are gonna be taught along side staunch Antrim Protestants in Parkhall "against the wishes of the majority of parents".
Even now hordes, yes HORDES, of Catholics are boarding buses to swamp Parkhall.
You would have more credibility Steve if you objected on grounds of equality for all rather than the unpleasant anti-catholic sentiments you expressed on these comment posts.
'Integrated' schools enjoy preferred funding arrangements (such as 'Transformation funding'), planning schemes (proposed enrolment as opposed to historical trends) and are the only institutions that the Law says MUST be supported by the Department. Given their dubious record of actually meeting their community enrolment targets (and wide scale manipulation of stats to ‘balance their books’ vis a vis Catholic/Protestant balance) it would have been more credible if you questioned these aspects of the proposed transformation.
A vote is after all a vote!
Posted by Exasperated | 25.11.09, 10:37 GMT
Dave.
Unfortunately your fears are already a reality. Parkhall College in Antrim was given integrated status after four parental ballots. The Minister approved the transformation prior to the beginning of the 09/10 school year. When Parkhall opened in Sept only 2.2% of the entire school census was from the minority community.
The NEELB have described the current situation as "meltdown" but were responsible for this proposal and drove it through against the wishes of the majority of parents.
Posted by Parental Alliance for Choice in Education | 25.11.09, 08:24 GMT
I think that serious journalist and MLAs need to be asking what are the interim measures that will oversee education for possibly a year? Who/what will tghis be? Where is the structure, and at what cost? Where is the savings as we now have to pay for a third level of beaucracy - the ELBs, the creation ESA and this interim body!
Please do not restructure any local school systems until this is sorted out as there seems little accountability and decisions may well be made that have long lasting consequences by people who will not be in charge in a year's time.
Wait for ESA before any mor school reorganisations!
Posted by dave | 24.11.09, 09:10 GMT
Just how badly do you have to mismanage your portfolio as an Assembly Minister before you're removed from your post?
It's beginning to look like any level of inadequacy must be endured by the Northern Ireland public and that there is no political will to remove under-performing ministers.
Posted by Mark | 23.11.09, 17:30 GMT
Regardless of which particular party is to blame, making a such a mess from a standing start, of such a fundamental issue as education, proves that local politicians are absoluely incapable.
Can you imagine the mess they would make of Policing and Justice if it were ever administered locally?!?!
The fact is, local MLA's are barely fit to run a rural town hall, never mind a whole region of the UK.
How long do you think any of them would last in the private sector!
Posted by Scott | 23.11.09, 15:39 GMT
Why hasn't the media done more to cover this story in the leadup to this decision? Is it too much like hard work for some jounalists to actually investigate what is happening (or not happening) in the Department of Education? This is such a waste of public money because the minister is either completely incompetent or else just doesn't care.
Posted by jay | 22.11.09, 12:03 GMT
I work in an Education Board and huge savings could easily be found if senior managers actually managed their staff correctly. Many sections are so obviously overstaffed, but senior management want an easy life, and would rather look the other way instead of doing their job correctly.
Posted by ELB Farce | 21.11.09, 13:26 GMT
Ruane might blame the political will but her Department have not a structure for ESA 4 years on. Only 6 of the 7 Directors have been appointed and the Assistant Director posts are unknown. Well done David Cargo et al for syaing it as it is.
Posted by Robert | 21.11.09, 01:01 GMT
"savings of £21m in total costs of excess bureaucracy, which are already factored into our financial plans, have yet to be achieved".
Dear God listen to yourself! You failed. You got it wrong. You threw out the the baby, the bath, the sink, the mother and the granny too. What have you left? You are not competent enough to do the job. The only one who has failed education here is you. Resign. In the name of God go! In a democracy you would have been forced to resign long ago - along withe rest of you at Stormont. You all have achieved nothing and never will.
Posted by Andy Mullan | 21.11.09, 00:58 GMT