Tag Archives: education

Changes to School Funding Formula Miss Target-Beggs

Ulster Unionist Party MLA Roy Beggs Jnr has urged schools in his East Antrim constituency to respond to the Department of Education’s proposal to change the way schools are funded through the Common Funding Formula. The Department of Education is currently consulting on proposed changes to how they calculate annual school budgets. Mr Beggs said: “The consultation period for the proposed changes to funding for schools ends this Friday, and I would encourage all Schools to respond. The negative impact which these projected changes would have on most local school budgets is of real concern. The vast majority would see their budgets cut dramatically, in many cases losing between £5,000-£10,000. Some schools are losing even more. The Ulster Unionist my Party fully recognises that a new funding model may be necessary in order to tackle the correlation between poor educational attainment and social deprivation. However, we believe that the current … Continue reading

Posted in Children and young people, Press Releases | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Ulster Unionists urge Executive to provide young children free school meals

Roy Beggs MLA who earlier this week in a debate on free school meals urged that every child should be given a free school meal, has welcomed the decision of the Westminster Government to provide free school meals to primary school infants.  He has urged  the NI Executive to do likewise with the funding that will be made available locally. Roy Beggs MLA, the Ulster Unionist Health Spokesman said, “A nutritional diet is vital for a child’s development and to improve concentration in the classroom. The current Free School Meals system is not fully taken up and 20,000 children were estimated by the NI Audit Office to be failing to taking up their entitlement. Fear of stigmatisation is thought to be a factor. The earnings limits also creates a cliff for the working poor. If a family earns a little more they can be worst off as they could lose … Continue reading

Posted in Children and young people, Press Releases | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Most Local Schools Could Lose Out in Proposed Changes to Funding

Fundamental changes to how individual annual school budgets are calculated will have a negative impact on most local schools. That was the stark warning after it was recently revealed to the Education Committee at Stormont that huge numbers of schools would be receiving less money following a revision to the Common Funding Scheme. East Antrim UUP MLA Roy Beggs Jnr said; “Local schools definitely need to be aware of what the Department of Education is proposing. Following a raft of changes to how every schools annual budget is calculated, known as the Common Funding Formula, large numbers of local primaries and post primaries are going to be hit from next year onwards. I have had sight of the hypothetical reworked budget for 2013-2014 had it been based on the revised calculations and it is clear that had these cuts been brought in this year they would have had a devastating … Continue reading

Posted in Press Releases | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Need for Two Separate Schools for Islandmagee and Ballycarry Highlighted

Ulster Unionist MLA for East Antrim Roy Beggs Jnr has written to Minister for Education pointing out an historic underspend on new school buildings in East Antrim, and the continuing need for separate primary schools in Islandmagee and Ballycarry. In his correspondence the UUP MLA states: “Since 1999, my constituency has been very badly neglected at primary school level in terms of new/ replacement school buildings, with only 1 project built (St MacNissis Maintained Primary School, Larne) at a cost of £1.21M. This contrasts very unfavourably with the neighbouring constituency of North Antrim which has had 11 new build Primary Schools at a cost of £24.85M (AQW19810/11-15). The spend in East Antrim has been the lowest in the whole of Northern Ireland.” Mr Beggs said healthy birthrate in both the Ballycarry ward and Islandmagee wards support the case that two schools are sustainable in the area. “The figures for live … Continue reading

Posted in Children and young people, Press Releases | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Beggs demands action to tackle impact of school absenteeism on academic under-achievement

Ulster Unionist MLA Roy Beggs has highlighted the impact of school absenteeism on levels of academic under-achievement by bringing a motion for debate on the floor of the Assembly. The East Antrim representative said; “Because of my own family history, I recognise the importance of education to enable everyone to increase the opportunities available to them. For a number of years I have been posing Assembly questions to highlight the significant numbers with less than 85% attendance in school. Many children are missing one day in seven and fall significantly behind in the classroom. This in turn leads to low self-esteem and increases the likelihood that students will drop out of school and the likelihood of becoming Not in Education, Employment or Training, or NEETS. Charlie Taylor, HMG’s Expert Adviser on Behaviour, in his report on improving attendance at school states: “There is a clear link between poor attendance at … Continue reading

Posted in Press Releases | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment