NAHT(NI) PRESS RELEASE – 14th June 2010
School Principals angered by “Meat free” Department of Education Early Years Strategy
Nursery and primary school principals have reacted with anger to the news that the long awaited Department of Education Early years, 0-6, strategy is lacking coherence and analysis and apparently fails to address most of the key issues surrounding early years provision.
The NI Assembly Education Committee took evidence from DE officials (9 June 2010) on the consultation document outlining the Strategy. MLAs were vocal in their disappointment at the lack of clarity and detail in the proposals. Basil McCrea MLA was scathing in his response to the proposals and said it was the weakest presentation he had ever seen and he was dismayed by the lack of detail available. He believed the document only addressed “5% of what is needed”. Dominic Bradley MLA, agreeing with Mr McCrea, said the document avoided key issues such as the appropriate age at which children should commence formal education alleging that the issue was an educational “hot potato that the Department have dropped”.
Mervyn Storey MLA, Chairperson of the Assembly Education Committee, was also critical of the lack of involvement of school principals, in charge of nursery schools or nursery units, in preparing the Strategy and was given an assurance from the DE officials that they would be properly included in future development work.
Aidan Dolan, Director of Education of The National Association of Head Teachers (NI), said it was incredible that after seven years work by the DE on the strategy, there appears to be so little detail in the proposals. The DE’s lack of consultation with experienced school principals has in part led to this abject failure. It is unacceptable to Headteachers, as it will be to parents, that early education could be tampered with in such an incoherent way. There needs to be real engagement with the Principals of Nursery schools, where, according to the Department’s own Inspectorate, the highest quality provision is to be found and with Primary school principals who will not wish to see any ‘watering down’ of high quality standards. Children in N Ireland deserve much better than this “.
However, it is unlikely that the proposals will be published in the form shown to the Education committee given the level of criticism expressed by the MLAs.
Mervyn Storey advised the DE official not to release the document as it had “no meat on the bones”, and Alastair Ross MLA queried “is this the vegetarian option?”
For further comment please contact:
Aidan Dolan, Director of Education, NAHT(NI) 07801367056
