​Alliance seek ‘clarity’ on DUP minister's education reforms and warn of 'already immense' teacher workloads

The party’s education spokesperson Nick Mathison said “further clarity” was needed – and warned about “already immense” teacher workloads.

He was responding to Paul Givan’s announcement of “ambitious” changes to the education system – prompted by Northern Ireland schools’ performance stagnating over the past decade, in contrast to their counterparts in England and the Republic of Ireland.

​Nick Mathison MLA said: “Whilst it’s welcome to see a focus on investment that is directly linked to raising educational standards, a number of key gaps remain where we must see further clarity.

“This includes the issue of academic selection and whether or not it actually reflects international best practice given how much it impacts pupils from less well-off backgrounds.

“Also, the need to ensure vocational pathways are made real and valued options for our young people, and, crucially, how the minister plans to tackle teachers’ already immense workloads in order to give them the time and space to deliver excellent teaching.

“This must be more than an aspirational document, one that is committed to real delivery for our pupils and teachers alike. We will continue advocating for robust and informed reforms to our education system to ensure the highest possible standards”.

During a discussion in the Assembly on Tuesday, Alliance MLA Sian Mulholland asked how the minister would “ensure that we don't reset the balance too far on a knowledge based curriculum and diminish the skills our young people develop”.

Minister Givan said international best practice shows that a knowledge rich curriculum is what is going to achieve the best outcomes for children.

“So this is an evidence based approach. It's not one that should be looked at through the prism of some ideology, I look at it and say, with envy, ‘look at what's happened in the Republic of Ireland’. Over the past number of years, they have been able to drive up their standards, and NI has not kept at pace. In fact, we went backwards”, he said.