Delay as schools must now await area plan

EDUCATION Minister John O’Dowd set extra hoops for Foyle/Ebrington to jump through in their co-location bid by announcing the need for a new critical assessment pending the completion of a Western Education and Library Board (WELB) area plan by the end of this school year.

Capital projects on the Department of Education (DE) Investment Delivery Plan (IDP) - of which Foyle/Ebrington’s co-location is one - must be consistent with a new area plan to be produced by the end of 2011/12.

The schools will also have to undergo a financial and educational viability audit to be completed by December despite recent inspection reports and enrolment data pointing to the redundancy of such an audit in both Foyle and Ebrington’s cases - the schools have 800 and 300 plus pupils respectively.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Chairman of the Foyle Board of Governors Robin Young has written to the Minister asking him to expedite the audit process given the position of Foyle/Ebrington.

The schools pass the Minister’s sustainability test based on the Department’s Sustainable Schools policy of 2009 which stipulates a Quality Educational Experience; Stable Enrolment Trends; Sound Financial Position; Strong Leadership and Management; Accessibility; Strong Links with the Community. Both schools pass all of these tests.

Mr Young told the Sentinel: “All the schools here have to go through this audit but I wrote to the Minister yesterday and asked him to expedite this.

“We are certainly pushing ahead to try and do all we can to speed the process up and I think the Minister is committed to that as well.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Young said he will meet local DUP MLA William Hay at Foyle tomorrow and will work to strengthen the strong cross-party lobby already firmly behind the project in Londonderry.

l Continued on Page 9

Mr Hay told the Sentinel: “Irrespective of the statement made by the minister I am quite confident that the project will be delivered.”

Mr Hay also said the Minister had agreed to a further meeting with representatives from both Londonderry schools.

On Monday DUP MLA Gregory Campbell raised concerns about the stalling of the DE’s capital programme.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr Campbell asked: “Will he outline to the House, and to those schools that are waiting a long, long time - schools that are in need of new build and have passed all the criteria - the timing of when he expects the issues outlined in his statement to finish, so that those schools will know the outcome of the process?”

The Minister replied: “I have asked for area plans and so on to be back with me within this school year. If the boards and the CCMS (Council for Catholic Maintained Schools) can work quicker on individual areas, I am more than happy to receive those plans, as long as they are based on the principles that I have set out.

“The main terms of reference for the new building criteria will be based on area planning and sustainable schools and the assurance that, wherever we build a school and for whatever sector, that school can provide the entire curriculum either on its own or in conjunction with schools around it.”

SDLP MLA Pat Ramsey said that despite a £400m reduction in the schools capital budget there had “been huge investment, and the Minister met Foyle and Londonderry College and Ebrington Primary School over the summer recess.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Mr O’Dowd replied: “I will not comment on any individual project; that would be wrong. We have a number of pieces of work to complete, and each school will be dealt with on its own merits.

“On the broader principle, I will say that, if those schools that were on the investment delivery plan (IDP) list and have been waiting a considerable time for newbuilds to begin remain viable and come through the new process that I will set out in relation to area planning, sustainability and educational entitlement going into the future, they will be priorities.

“However, I will not debate individual projects on the Floor of the Assembly before the work that I have commissioned is complete.”