Failure of Protestantboys is being tackled

The First and Deputy First Minister have outlined steps being taken to address damaging levels of educational underachievement amongst Protestant working class boys.
Gregory CampbellGregory Campbell
Gregory Campbell

The Ministers said 20 new nurture units and 10 family support hubs were amongst initiatives designed to address the issue.

East Londonderry MLA Gregory Campbell raised the matter in the wake of Dr Paul Nolan’s recent Community Relations Council (CRC) Northern Ireland Peace Monitoring Report, which claimed educational underachievement was “a seedbed for trouble.”

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He specifically referred to point 6 of Dr Nolan’s report which was entitled ‘Failure lies in wait for young working class Protestant males.’

Mr Campbell asked what steps were being implemented to address this issue.

The OFMDFM Ministers said poverty and social exclusion were being tackled across a range of Government Departments.

They stated that educational underachievement has been identified as one of the key contributors to bad life outcomes.

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The Ministers said that 20 new nurture units and 10 new family support hubs were in place to help address this and that 720 families are to benefit from a Community Family Support Programme.

Over 200 new teachers have also been employed in over 260 schools to tackle numeracy and literacy underachievement.

“The Department of Education also has a number of policies and initiatives to tackle educational underachievement and is working to implement these policies and provide funding for a range of additional interventions, with a focus on improving standards and tackling educational underachievement across all sectors,” the Ministers stated.

“The Department for Employment and Learning (DEL) is working in partnership with key stakeholders, particularly the Department of Education, to address underachievement through an extensive range of initiatives.

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“It funds and delivers a range of programmes that target young people at school but also young adults who continue to require support in securing access to the labour market.

“DEL has also taken on lead responsibility for co-ordinating the Together: Building a United Community strategy’s United Youth Programme, which will offer 10,000 young people not in employment, education or training the opportunity for employment experience and structured volunteer opportunities.

“The Programme is committed to increasing the employability of socially disadvantaged young people alongside a dedicated programme designed to foster good relations.

“We launched the first United Youth pilot scheme on 6 February 2014.

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“This ‘HeadStart’ scheme is operated by Springboard Opportunities and involves 50 young people. The pilot will help inform the design and structure of the new United Youth Programme to ensure that it will be effective in targeting and improving life opportunities for our young people with the greatest need,” they added.