To ask the Minister of Education (i) whether she plans to address primary school duplication in rural areas; and (ii) at what stage in this process would the local community and parents in the area be involved.

The Education Authority (EA) and the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS) are statutory planning authorities responsible for the planning of education provision. Within established Area Planning structures they engage with sectoral body representatives who contribute to the planning process in a number of ways, including through provision of information, analysis and advice on proposals impacting on their schools.

The requirement to engage with a range of stakeholders as proposals are developed is set out in legislation (the Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1986) and in the Department’s area planning guidance accessible at the following link:

https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/education/revised-area-planning-guidance-27-september-2016.pdf

Guidance on publication of Development Proposals (DPs) is accessible at the following link:

https://www.education-ni.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/education/ED1%2018%20185059%20%20WEB%20VERSION%20DP%20Guidance%20updated%2014%20September%202018%20-%20Withdrawal%20of%20DPS%20Clarification%20on%20Proposers_0.pdf

Any significant change to provision requires publication of a DP. The DP process can be separated into four main phases:

identification of need in the Area Planning process;

pre-publication consultation;

publication of a DP; and

statutory objection period leading to a decision by the Department.

The Department’s guidance makes specific reference to engagement and consultation with parents and regards it as good practice that consultation should be as widespread as possible and that the views of local people should be sought while planning is still at a formative stage to inform the identification and consideration of options for provision.

The pre-publication consultation phase is the point at which much of this engagement takes place, but where a DP is subsequently published there is further opportunity for any party with an interest in a proposal to make representation to the Department either in support of, or by way of objection to, a proposal during the two-month statutory objection period. Details of existing planning considerations at pre-publication stage can be viewed on the EA website at the following link:

https://www.eani.org.uk/school-management/area-planning/pre-publication-consultations

Where I take a decision to approve the proposed discontinuance of any school, my officials initially remit detail of that decision to the proposer of the DP and to the EA to allow them to begin the process of managing the discontinuance. My decision and the evidence I have considered in taking it are also published in full to the Department’s website.

It is not possible to be precise about the process used by the EA to communicate a discontinuance decision given the range of issues that may have to be addressed (such as, but not confined to, application of transport policy or arrangements for children or pupils with Special Educational Needs SEN), but these will typically have been considered in the Case for Change (CfC), with an implementation plan identified to manage the discontinuance process through multi-disciplinary teams working with the school.