Minister endorses shared education project as he launches audit

Rodney Edwards • Published 29 Sep 2011 13:00 0 Comments

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AS Education Minister John O'Dowd prepares to launch a "viability audit" designed to identify failing schools across Northern Ireland there are concerns over what it could all mean for schools in Fermanagh.

Mr. O'Dowd's radial plans - announced this week - means no school will be immune from the audit which will identify failures within three months.

Yesterday(Wednesday), the Minister met pupils from various schools at a sharing education conference. They have been taking part in shared education projects.

Speaking on Monday, he said: "We have too many schools that do not have the capacity to give children the broad and rich educational experience they deserve. Schools which, in some cases, have lost the confidence of the parents, pupils and communities they were built to serve".

The Minister wants to tackle under-achievement, falling pupil numbers, and encourage cooperation or even amalgamation between schools.

Schools seeking new builds will have to meet certain criteria as the department takes action after losing a total of £700 million from its overall budget.

There are 43 primary schools in Fermanagh: 27 maintained with 3359 pupils, 15 controlled with 2005 pupils, one integrated with 240 pupils. There are 14 post-primary schools: four grammar, two controlled (one high, one college), and seven maintained (two high, five college).

But education in this rural part of the country faces major changes. The Minister has warned that schools deemed unviable risk closure.

The Western Education and Library Board (WELB) sent their economic appraisal, which reviewed their educational provision, to the Department last year, while the NICCE (The Northern Ireland Commission for Catholic Education) held a consultation on the future of the nine post-primary schools in this area.

The challenges facing schools here include a reduction in pupil numbers, a requirement to increase access to a wider choice of subjects, the abolition of academic selection and a policy suggesting that post-primary schools should be made up of 500 pupils aged 11-16, and 100 in the post-16 classes.

The last Education Minister, Catriona Ruane had a criteria on the viability of schools which found that almost half of primary schools and four fifths of the post-primary schools in Fermanagh were potentially unsustainable. With that criteria in mind, 25 out of 44 primary schools (47 per cent of them) here are potentially unsustainable.

Mr. O'Dowd wants to see the education system across the province deliver more shared and integrated education. Here in Fermanagh, a shared education programme has been running successfully for the last three years involving 3154 pupils and yesterday (Wednesday) it was showcased at a major conference in Belfast.

The Sharing Education Learning Forum (SELF) conference was addressed by the Minister for Education, John O'Dowd and Lauri McCusker, Director of the Fermanagh Trust. Members of the Education Committee of the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Education and other senior officials from the Department of Education were present at the event, too.They watched as the principals of St. Mary's Primary School, Tempo and Tempo Controlled Primary School gave presentations.

Other schools in the county took part yesterday as well, including St. John the Baptist, Roscor (which works in partnership with Belleek Primary School), St. Mary's, Newtownbulter and St. Joseph's Primary School, Donagh (which work in partnership with Newtownbutler Controlled Primary School) and Moat, Lisnaskea (which works in partnership with St. Ronan's Primary School, Lisnaskea).

25 cross community school partnerships now exist in Fermanagh as Fergal McCann, St. Mary's, Tempo, and the acting Principal of Tempo Controlled, Alan Williamson explain.

"Prior to 2009, children from both our schools had little contact with each other and disputes often arose on the way to and from school. Also, staff only occasionally met at away days or training days and despite the fact that the schools are located 500 metres from each other we rarely communicated.

"The difference now is exceptional. We see our schools as an extension of each other. The fact that the Shared Education Programme is curriculum-based means we can share teacher/staff expertise and skills, which promotes the transfer of learning."

Lauri McCusker, Director of The Fermanagh Trust, which manages and administers the Shared Education Programme said: "The Shared Education Programme in Fermanagh supports school improvement, helps develop community and community relations and breaks down barriers, fears and misperceptions within the school and wider community. The fact that the Programme was showcased at a major education conference is a tribute to those schools including the members of the Boards of Governors and parents who support the work; the delivery agents, namely the Principals and teachers; and the pupils who participate".

This article appeared in Impartial Reporter 29 Sep 11

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