Submit your question directly to the Education Minister via Twitter

Education Minister John O’Dowd will be live on Twitter at 2:30pm on Thursday 26 June answering your questions.

You can submit your question now via the hashtag #AskDE. 

The Minister will respond to as many education-related questions as time permits via the @niexecutive Twitter feed.

If you are not able to be online at 2:30pm on Thursday to see the responses live, don’t worry. All responses will remain on the @niexecutive timeline and under the hashtag #AskDE. A full transcript will also be published on this blog.

So if you have a question for the Minister, please do submit it via #AskDE and the Minister will do his best to respond.

Users should submit no more than two questions each. This will enable as many people as possible to have a chance to take part and have their query answered.

You can also submit your question in Irish. Any Irish tweets that the Minister is able to cover in the hour available will be answered in Irish. These tweets will be translated into English in the transcript that will be posted here after the Q&A has finished.

The Minister will respond to as many tweets as possible in the time available. If your particular tweet is not responded to, it may be the case that the topic is covered by a different response, so do please read them all.

O’Dowd outlines position on future of rural schools

Education Minister, John O’Dowd, has outlined what he is doing to address the needs of children in rural communities.

The Minister was speaking in the Assembly today during a debate on the future of rural schools.

Speaking about the importance of a high quality education for all pupils, the Minister said: “Since September 2011 my focus has been on ‘Putting Pupils First’ through creating a high quality education system that will enrich the lives of all young people.   I want to ensure that children living in rural areas have access to the same high quality education as those living in urban areas.

“My focus is on the children in rural communities and not on the school buildings.  Schools are there to serve the needs of the children who attend them. 

“Our geography means there will always be a need for a significant number of small rural schools and the Sustainable Schools Policy takes account of this, through the inclusion of a lower enrolment threshold for rural primary schools.  Furthermore, the ‘strong links with the community’ criterion takes account of the contribution the school makes to the local community including the use made of school buildings and the level of parental involvement.”

Addressing parental concerns on school closures, the Minister said: “Let me emphasise once again that schools will not close simply because they fall below thresholds.  Where it can be clearly demonstrated that a small school is needed then it should be retained and supported to ensure that quality education is the predominant characteristic of that school.

“The Sustainable Schools Policy does not seek a one-model-fits-all solution to the problems brought about by demographic decline.  Rather, it provides a consistent framework within which any review of a school’s viability can be handled carefully and sensitively, taking account of local circumstances on a case-by-case basis.”

In conclusion, the Minister commented on the legal process that the Education and Library Boards and the Department must comply with.  He said: “Any significant change to the schools estate requires the publication of a statutory development proposal.  This involves widespread public consultation, giving local communities every opportunity to make their views known.  I encourage communities and schools to involve themselves in this process and provide robust solutions which will result in a strong vibrant schools estate.  I will look seriously at innovative solutions that are about educating children and not just about keeping schools open.”

More information

Education and Library Boards have published draft primary area plans which are open for public consultation until 30 June. Visit http://www.puttingpupilsfirst.info to view the plans and leave a response.

The Department of Education has launched a new ‘Education Works’ advertising campaign. The campaign encourages families to play, talk, read and count with their child and to ‘Get Involved Because Education Works’. Watch out for the ads on television, radio and outdoor locations. The campaign highlights the vital role families can play in helping children do well at school and improve their life chances. Visit http://www.nidirect.gov.uk/education-works for more information.

Watch the TV ad on the Department’s YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/thedeptofeducation

See photos from the Department of Education in our collection at http://www.flickr.com/niexecutive

 

O'Dowd comments following death of pupil.

Education Minister John O’Dowd has spoken following the tragic death of a primary school pupil during a school trip to Scotland.

Mr O’Dowd said: “It was with deep sadness and regret that I heard about the death of a pupil from Whiteabbey Primary School while on a school trip. My thoughts are with the child’s family and indeed the pupils, teachers and wider school community at what is a profoundly distressing time.
“The North Eastern Education and Library Board stands ready to provide support, including access to counselling, to the pupils and teachers in the days and weeks ahead.”

O’Dowd congratulates local winners at BT Young Scientist and TechnologyExhibition

Education Minister John O’Dowd has congratulated local young people who scooped top awards at this year’s BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition.

Oakgrove Integrated College, Derry won the University of Ulster Special Award, given to the best project from the north, for their examination of how to develop methods to harvest seeds from crops for replanting by farmers in developing countries. Oakgrove were also awarded the prize sponsored by MATRIX, the NI Science Industry Panel, for the best school from the north of Ireland entering the event.

There was further success for local schools in the some of the specialist and individual categories which saw pupils from Rathmore Grammar School, Belfast and St Mary’s College, Derry receiving awards for their projects.

In addition, Sean Donnelly a teacher at St Louis Grammar School in Kilkeel received a prestigious Educator of Excellence award for his work.

Congratulating the participants, the Minister said: “These young people can be hugely proud of their achievements. The BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition represents the culmination of months of hard work and attendance at the event is reward in itself – but it is also a hotly contested competition across many categories and with 550 projects in the finals, to win any award category is a fantastic achievement.

“I spent an illuminating and inspiring afternoon at the exhibition during which I was greatly impressed by not only the standard of project entries, but also the enthusiasm, energy and diligence of the young people. Such passion is a tribute to the teachers who have invested so much in encouraging and helping the students progress their projects, as well as to the young people themselves who clearly enjoy the whole experience.

“It is this kind of real excitement about STEM subjects that will help the Executive deliver its long term goals of boosting the local economy on the global stage by creating an innovative, knowledge-based workforce.”

The Minister continued: “As well as congratulating all the northern participants I would also like to commend Kinsale Community College, Cork on winning the overall prize for their project on the effects of Diazotroph bacteria on plant germination”

“Once again the BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition has proved a great success and I reiterate my congratulations to all who took part and to BT for delivering an excellent event.”

For more information on the event, visit www.btyoungscientist.com

Submit your question directly to the Education Minister via Twitter

Education Minister John O’Dowd will be live on Twitter at 11.15am on Thursday 25 October answering your questions.

 

Education Minister John O'Dowd



You can submit your question now via the hashtag #AskDE. The Minister will respond to as many education-related questions as time permits via the @niexecutive Twitter feed.

If you are not able to be online at 11.15am on Thursday to see the responses live, don’t worry. All responses will remain on the @niexecutive timeline and under the hashtag #AskDE. A full transcript will also be published on this blog.

So if you have a question for the Minister, please do submit it via #AskDE and the Minister will do his best to respond.

Users should submit no more than two questions each. This will enable as many people as possible to have a chance to take part and have their query answered.

You can also submit your question in Irish. Any Irish tweets that the Minister is able to cover in the hour available will be answered in Irish. These tweets will be translated into English in the transcript that will be posted here after the Q&A has finished.

The Minister will respond to as many tweets as possible in the time available. If your particular tweet is not responded to, it may be the case that the topic is covered by a different response, so do please read them all.

Please note we’ve kept the questions submitted for the postponed #AskDE in June. They will be considered equally with any submitted from now.

Statement on technical issues with school computer based assessments

Education Minister, John O’Dowd has responded to concerns raised by some schools in relation to technical issues with the new computer based assessment system.

A number of primary schools have contacted CCEA to advise that their pupils were experiencing difficulties when completing computer based assessments in literacy and numeracy.  Based on the information provided to date the difficulties are related to system and network issues and not to any problems with the assessment programs themselves. 

The Minister said: “I am aware that a number of schools are experiencing technical difficulties when accessing the new statutory computer-based assessments.  I am obviously concerned at the impact this may have on teachers and, more importantly, on pupils and have asked those involved to make every effort to resolve this issue as a matter of urgency.

“It is important to note that these problems were not encountered during the significant period of testing prior to their introduction and they are not affecting every school.  Nonetheless, the intermittent nature of the problem makes it difficult to resolve and CCEA and C2K have been working with the service provider, Northgate, to try to establish the causes. I have asked them to report back to me on this issue as quickly as possible.”

The Minister continued: “The new assessments have been designed specifically for our local context and are an important element of our drive to raise standards in literacy and numeracy. They are diagnostic in nature, intended to assist the work of teachers and the understanding and engagement of parents and pupils.

“Schools have been advised that if the current difficulties in operating the new assessment is interfering with this purpose, or is causing distress to pupils, they should stop the assessments until they are advised that the issues have been addressed.  Given the current circumstances, I believe it would be unreasonable to expect those schools who are encountering such difficulties to have conducted assessments and reported outcomes to parents by the end of the autumn term. My Department will be writing to schools to provide them with further guidance on this issue.” 

In conclusion the Minister said: “I note that many schools have already conducted the assessments successfully and have made arrangements to report to parents and set up meetings this term. Indeed, given the value of autumn term parental meetings, I hope that the majority of schools will be in a position to conduct assessments and report as normal.
Finally, I want to reassure those schools affected by the technical problems that every effort is being made to resolve the situation as quickly as possible.”

Notes to editors:

For media queries please contact the Department of Education Press Office on 028 9127 9207. Outside office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.

Minister welcomes Executive agreement to Education Bill

Education Minister John O'Dowd has welcomed the Executive's agreement to the Education Bill, which will see the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority.

Speaking after today's Executive meeting, Mr O'Dowd said:

"Today we have taken a significant step forward in the strategic planning and delivery of our education system; a system which will deliver educational excellence for all and will meet the needs and aspirations of our young people, helping them fulfil their potential and enhancing their life chances.

"The creation of a single authority, able to plan, deliver, support and challenge schools and other providers, will also ensure we are better able to enhance the role played by education in developing our economy.

"I look forward to bringing this Bill to the Assembly in the coming weeks for scrutiny by the Assembly and the Education Committee.

"I wish to pay tribute today to staff at the Education and Library Boards, the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools, the Youth Council and the Staff Commission for the Education and Library Boards. Over the course of the past 40 years they have provided an invaluable service to schools and I recognise the hard work and commitment of staff in all these organisations. This has been particularly true in recent years as many posts have gone unfilled in preparation for ESA with the remaining staff showing their professionalism in ensuring the continued delivery of services.

"Next week I will announce the way ahead for the establishment of a sectoral support body for the controlled sector. I will be establishing a working group to take this forward and I look forward to engaging with the group to secure the establishment of the sectorial support body by next year."

O'Dowd expresses shock at blaze at Omagh school

Education Minister John O'Dowd has spoken out following a major fire at a school in Omagh.

During a visit to the scene, the Minister viewed the extensive damage caused to Arvalee School and Resource Centre in the town by last night's fire.

After speaking with the Principal of the school and the Chair of the Western Education and Library Board, Mr O'Dowd said: "The fire at Arvalee School and Resource Centre will have a devastating impact on the whole school community. The school caters for some of the most vulnerable children in our society and this fire will cause great distress just as the pupils are preparing to return for a new academic year. However, the impact will go further; this also affects the parents, staff and the wider community in Omagh.

"I have spoken with the Principal of the school and relayed my shock and sympathy at the events of last night and assured him that my Department stands ready to assist the Western Education and Library Board and the school in the coming days.

"I have been disturbed by the fact that this fire is currently being treated as suspicious. Whilst I struggle to comprehend who might wish to do this to a special school, I would ask that if anyone has information on the blaze, they take it to the PSNI.

"In the mean time, the Western Education and Library Board will be putting in place alternative arrangements for the children due to return to school next week. The aim will be to ensure that arrangements are made as quickly as possible, and that any distress to the children involved is kept to an absolute minimum. Parents of pupils at the school will be alerted once alternative arrangements are agreed.

"I had already announced a new build for Arvalee School and Resource Centre as an early development on the Lisanelly site. I will want to explore with my officials and other stakeholders how we can advance the timetable for that given last night's events.

"Finally, I would like to thank the emergency services for the professional way they dealt with the incident and for their efforts to contain the fire."

Submit your question directly to the Education Minister via Twitter

Education Minister John O’Dowd will be live on Twitter at 11.30am on Thursday 28 June answering your questions.

You can submit your question now via the hashtag #AskDE. The Minister will respond to as many education-related questions as time permits via the @niexecutive Twitter feed.

If you are not able to be online at 11.30am on Thursday to see the responses live, don’t worry. All responses will remain on the @niexecutive timeline and under the hashtag #AskDE. A full transcript will also be published on this blog.

So if you have a question for the Minister, please do submit it via #AskDE and the Minister will do his best to respond.

Users should submit no more than two questions each. This will enable as many people as possible to have a chance to take part and have their query answered.

You can also submit your question in Irish. Any Irish tweets that the Minister is able to cover in the hour available will be answered in Irish. These tweets will be translated into English in the transcript that will be posted here after the Q&A has finished.

The Minister will respond to as many tweets as possible in the time available. If your particular tweet is not responded to, it may be the case that the topic is covered by a different response, so do please read them all.

Twitter Q&A - Submit your question directly to the Education Minister

Education Minister John O’Dowd will be live on Twitter at 3pm on Thursday 13 October answering your questions.

You can submit your question now via the hashtag #AskDE. The deadline for submitting questions is 2pm Thursday 13.

The Minister will respond to as many education-related questions as time permits via the @niexecutive Twitter feed.

If you are not able to be online at 3pm on Thursday to see the responses live, don’t worry. All responses will remain on the @niexecutive timeline and under the hashtag #AskDE.

So if you have a question for the Minister, please do submit it via #AskDE and the Minister will do his best to respond.

How the Twitter Q&A will work...

Minister O'Dowd will retweet the question he plans to answer and then tweet his response and so on.

The complete transcript of questions and the Minister's responses will be posted here.