Agenda item

            The Committee considered the undernoted report:

“1.0     Purpose of Report

1.1       The purpose of this report is to:

-       Provide feedback on a recent meeting with the Minister for Education in the Northern Ireland Assembly, John O’Dowd MLA, to discuss a notice of motion on nursery provision in Belfast

-       Agree a series of follow-up actions from the meeting. 

2.0       Recommendations

2.1       It is recommended that Members: 

-       Note the feedback from the meeting with Minister O’Dowd

-       Agree to a follow-up meeting between the Chief Executive or her nominees and officials from the Education Authority to explore opportunities for greater coordination on planning on education issues in the Belfast area, in the context of the Belfast Agenda.

3.0       Main report

3.1      At the council meeting in October 2015, Cllr Mullan presented the following notice of motion:

            ‘This Council acknowledges the strategic aim of Belfast to become a first-rate ‘Learning City’ and supports initiatives which would create a culture that promotes all forms of lifelong learning. This Council calls on the Minister of Education to ensure the provision of free, pre-school, curriculum based nursery education places for all children in the year immediately before primary one; to ensure that they have a strong foundation for future learning and skills development, to reach their maximum potential, on a lifelong basis’.

3.2       The notice of motion was unanimously supported and it was agreed that an all-party group would seek a meeting with Minister John O’Dowd MLA to discuss the issue. A meeting took place on 9 December 2015.  The following elected members were in attendance:

-       Cllr Ciaran Beattie

-       Cllr Paula Bradshaw

-       Cllr Aileen Graham

-       Cllr Julie-Ann Corr Johnston

-       Cllr Kate Mullan

-       Ald Jim Rodgers.

3.3       Members raised a number of issues related to the matter with the Minister and his officials.  These included:

-       Clarification on planning process around the allocation of nursery school places in the Belfast area

-       Opportunities for improvements including starting the application process earlier in the year

-       Addressing the barriers to potential community-based nursery providers (principally legislative issues that mean significant cost implications for providers)

-       Clarification around the nursery curriculum

-       Potential opportunities for looking at specific activities within targeted areas, e.g. linked to regeneration and local employability activities, including potential to build on good practice

-       Opportunities for integrated pre-school provision.

3.4       Minister O’Dowd confirmed that the Education Authority was responsible for the administration of nursery provision and wider education provision up to secondary school level.  Officials acknowledged that there was no specific planning undertaken on a Belfast city level and indicated that they would be open to looking at how that could be done, in order to address some of the key educational as well as social and economic challenges in the city. 

3.5       Members will recall that one of the strands of the Belfast Agenda focuses on ‘Working and Learning’.  Under this theme, a number of key priorities are identified, including:

-       Addressing education inequalities

-       Attracting and retaining skilled people

-       Improving skills and employability. 

3.6       While the council has no statutory responsibility for the delivery of education and skills activities, the issue has been repeatedly referenced as a key priority for inclusive city growth, as part of the development activity on the Belfast Agenda.  Successive studies underline the importance of good quality education in improving educational and wider societal outcomes. 

3.7       The growing interest in creating a family-friendly city means that consideration will need to be given to education provision as part of any future plans to encourage population growth in the city centre, and in the context of the emerging Local Development Plan (LDP). In addition, the council’s engagement with the Belfast Strategic Partnership (BSP) to promote a ‘learning city’ means that it recognises the value of all learning – both formal and informal – and supports a range of activities to provide access to learning opportunities for its residents.

3.8       It is clear that there are opportunities to improve the planning process at an area level around education and skills development activities.  This issue has been clearly articulated through the draft employability and skills plan, particularly for further and higher education.  However it is considered that there is also significant scope to work with partners responsible for nursery, primary and secondary school education to consider how a more coordinated approach to planning activity might support greater educational outcomes.  Given the emerging narrative of Belfast as a ‘city of talent’, it is critical that the essential foundation stones are in place from early years education right through to primary, secondary, further and higher education if that narrative is to be supported. 

3.9       In order to progress this issue, it is proposed that a further meeting is organised between the Chief Executive or her nominees and key officials from the Education Authority. 

3.10     Financial and Resource Implications

            No specific financial or resource implications at this point.

3.11     Equality or Good Relations Implications

            There are no specific equality or good relations implications.”

            The Committee adopted the recommendations.