NI POLICY CORNER
POLICY UPDATE
Northern Ireland HELENA MACORMAC, NAHT(NI) director, provides an update on our work to support members and represent their interests in Northern Ireland. NAHT(NI) welcomes staff and pupils back to school
2020 has been an exceptional year; firstly, I would like to pay tribute to the incredible work undertaken by school leaders to ensure schools in Northern Ireland could open in late August. Despite the constraints of the ‘new normal’, schools have remained welcoming, safe and enriching environments for all children and young people. While there will be challenging times ahead as the full impact of lockdown on pupils’ progress and well-being is assessed and future localised lockdowns loom, the ingenuity, creativity and determination of our leaders in putting our learners first are second to none.
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NAHT(NI) continues to challenge the government over contradictions and concerns with restart guidance With the new term under way, issues of restart continue to dominate the work of the NAHT(NI) team. Lack of
union consultation on the government’s guidance, contradictory information from the Department of Health and Department of Education, and uncertainty of resourcing remain key concerns. The education minister stated his intention to have all schools back in the new term months in advance of the start date, yet the government only published updated restart guidance within a few days of the new term. Amidst the flawed process, NAHT(NI) has advocated relentlessly to communicate the challenges members face to the government. We contend that the responsibility for the practical interpretation of the guidance should not rest solely with the principal. We have met with the Department of Education to assert that school leaders must have full assurances that they won’t be left to arbitrate on matters of health and safety and the specific vulnerabilities of individual staff. The
employers must take reasonable care for the safety of all employees. Furthermore, parental responsibility and practical expectations must be clearly defined and communicated; it is unacceptable that the new term has started yet significant questions remain unaddressed.
NAHT(NI) calls for the exam fiasco of 2020 not to be repeated
In early September, NAHT(NI) presented to the Education Committee, calling for the 2021 assessment system to have appropriate mitigations to meet the challenges of localised lockdowns and ensure no pupil is disadvantaged. We raised concern that a consultation on proposed changes to 2021’s GCSE, AS and A level qualifications had come too late. The term has commenced, and teaching is under way. If we are to implement changes, schools need to know now so that they can adapt their planning. Furthermore, the proposals put forward by the Council for the Curriculum, Examinations & Assessment (CCEA) take very little account of adapting the content of exams and assessments to disruption to teaching and learning, which is inevitable as we see further localised lockdowns. NAHT(NI) made several concrete recommendations to the committee, including a specification order for subjects so that if lockdowns are required, pupils will not lose out because all pupils will be at a relative point. We also called for a full investigation into the exam fiasco of 2020 and for parents and pupils to receive clear communications about how the CCEA will calculate grades, especially if it involves using mathematical formulae or algorithms.
The ingenuity, creativity and determination of our leaders in putting our learners first are second to none.