To ask the Minister of Education why he has closed the Education Transformation Programme.

Mr Weir (The Minister of Education)

I thank the Member for her question. The transformation programme was an innovative approach to policy and operational review developed by departmental officials in April 2018. It was established in anticipation of the return of the Assembly and for discussion with an incoming Minister. Work across a number of areas was progressed to good effect until the point at which I had to divert departmental staff resources to deal with the significant work associated with the pandemic. Following advice from officials, I took the decision to formally close the programme in March 2021 on the basis that there is no guaranteed funding stream for 2021-22 or beyond. I would like to make it clear that this in no way means an end to transformation activity in the Department. The formal closure of the programme means only that further elements of transformation will be delivered using a different approach. I am keen that policy reform and service delivery improvements continue to be made wherever there is clear and evident need. Some aspects of the transformation programme have already been delivered, and others are continuing as planned, such as the work on an approach to a 14-19 education and training strategy. Other ongoing transformative work includes the scoping of proposals to provide flexibility for school starting age; work to address teacher concerns about workloads and accountability; and a programme of improvement in the Education Authority (EA) relating to services for children and young people with special educational needs (SEN). Finally, the work of the panel on underachievement and the forthcoming independent review of education are further opportunities to transform our system and improve outcomes for children and young people. I repeat that the closure of the programme does not mean the end of transformation; rather, it will be delivered in a different manner.

Mr Weir

I take the Member's point about the common funding formula. A summary of proposals on that is being prepared by officials. The problem that we tend to see with the common funding formula is that, unless there is a commitment from the Executive or others to provide additional funding, there is a fight over whether we are taking money out of one school and putting it into another. Ideally, there should be greater funding across the board. The detail of that is being drawn together by officials. Some schools — for example, those operating on split sites — will have concerns about whether there is adequate funding. I visited one of those schools yesterday. It is about assessing what information has been gathered not only for the short term but for the wider review of education as a whole. The review may well have comments to make directly on how we apply funding to make sure that we get the best possible results from any investment.

Ms Ennis

Like Kellie Armstrong, I want to ask about the common funding scheme. This is important work, particularly in the context of the recent Audit Office report on how special educational expenditure targets disadvantage. When does the Minister expect the review to conclude, and when does he expect to present the final report on the common funding scheme?

Mr Weir

There will be elements to do with what resources are applied. There are a number of strands to this, and you mentioned SEN in particular. Of course, the ongoing review of the EA is part of that, and that is looking at where SEN funding is applied. I anticipate that the final report of the educational panel on underachievement will be available by roughly the end of this month. The report will, I think, look at funding issues, along with other aspects. Again, we want to make sure that there is the best possible delivery of that. The problem is that, in any form of reassessment of where common funding should go, everybody assumes that their school or sector is hard done by and will benefit from it.

The issue is that, unless additional resources are provided for schools as a whole, it will be a question of gains for some and losses for others. There may be an equitable basis on which that can be justified, but we want to avoid a situation of schools fighting among themselves as to whether they have been treated equitably.

Miss Woods

The Minister outlines a number of transformative actions that the Department has undertaken, and he mentions funding. A recent Audit Office report found that the Education Department:

In light of that, why has the Department failed to introduce adequate arrangements to assess the effectiveness of the interventions and whether they contribute to achieving the required outcomes?

Mr Weir

There is obviously a link between social deprivation and educational underachievement, and that topic will be covered by the panel report. I will present that report to the Assembly, in accordance with procedure, but it has to be adopted first by the Executive. It is sometimes difficult to ascribe a direct linear assessment of particular interventions to individual factors. However, targeting social need by, for example, the use of extended schools has played a significant role in helping to support socially deprived pupils. It is sometimes difficult to assess the extent of hypothecation. We will look to the recommendations of the expert panel on educational underachievement. We need to balance what is appropriate to ensure that money is spent properly and does not put too much of an additional administrative burden on the schools themselves. It is about trying to find an appropriate balance between the two.

Mr Deputy Speaker (Mr Beggs)

I should have advised Members earlier that question 8 has been withdrawn.