Ulster Unionist Education Spokesperson, Danny Kinahan MLA, has described the significant correlation between educational attainment and social disadvantage in Northern Ireland as‘abhorrent’. The South Antrim MLA was speaking after the Department of Education revealed that pupils on free school meals only do on average half as well as their counterparts who aren’t entitled.
Danny Kinahan, who is also Deputy Chair of Stormont’s Education Committee said:
“The Department of Education has revealed that only 33.9% of year 12 pupils who were entitled to free school meals in 2012-13 achieved five or more GCSEs at grades A*-C, including GCSE English and GCSE maths, compared to 66.7% of those who were not entitled.
“The fact that children from more wealthy households do significantly better than their peers from more socially disadvantaged backgrounds is a rotten stain on the overall delivery of education here. It is abhorrent.
“Whilst the Ulster Unionist Party has long been warning about this colossal inequality, the Department and respective Ministers have done little to address it. Instead, the current Sinn Fein Minister is so consumed with his archaic ideological crusade against grammar schools, and precipitating the current hugely divisive disputes between grammars and non-grammars, that he is neglecting the very real support that our post primary schools require to bridge this educational gap.
“We must remember that a minimum of 5 GCSEs at A*-C, including maths and English, is often the minimum requirement for jobs. By failing to provide 2 out of every 3 young people from disadvantaged backgrounds with these minimum qualifications, current education policy is causing huge damage to their long-term outcomes.
“The Ulster Unionist Party is clear that a new approach is needed. Last year we put forward a landmark proposal of a pupil bonus scheme, similar to the pupil premium in England, whereby schools would receive additional money based on how many of their children qualify for free school meals. This additional funding could come from existing Stormont social funds and would be left at the discretion of individual principals to spend on what they deem most appropriate to ensure a fair chance of success. ”
“Tackling the chronic educational inequalities across Northern Ireland will not be easy. We can no longer allow the situation to go unaddressed whereby a household’s wealth, or lack of, can effectively determine a child’s educational attainment.”