The assembly was recalled early from recess to debate how to keep schools Covid-19 safe
MLAs debated a motion which accuses Education Minister Michelle McIlveen of a "lack of planning"
The recall motion was brought forward by Sinn Féin
The Department of Education has said it would do all it can "to help school leaders during these unprecedented and extremely challenging circumstances"
Image source, PA MediaThe Speaker of the House, Alex Maskey, puts the motion to an oral vote and it’s passed.
He wishes MLAs a happy new year before adjourning today’s session.
That’s all from the assembly for today.
MLAs will return for their next full plenary session next Monday at 12:00. Do join us then.
In the meantime, have a great afternoon.
Sinn Féin MLA Nicola Brogan is winding up the debate as her party's spokesperson for children and young people.
She says the assembly is "in agreement that we want to ensure schools stay open" but the "disagreement seems to be who is responsible for keeping schools safe".
"It is, of course, the education minister," she says.
She rounds up a number of the points that have been over the need for air filtration systems and the need for measures to alleviate staffing pressure, saying schools have been "facing unprecedented challenges".
Turning to school staff shortages, the education minister says “there is no magic tap of teachers and other staff to turn on”.
Michelle McIlveen adds that her department is monitoring staffing levels closely.
The minister says “never before has our education system witnessed such disruption” as a result of the pandemic.
She directly thanks schools leaders and teachers for their efforts during Covid-19.
Image source, NI AssemblyAs for examinations, Ms McIlveen says the department has been working closely with CCEA.
CCEA will ensure that “grading in 2022 takes account of disruption experienced by learners and that they are not disadvantaged due to the pandemic", says the DUP minister.
“Should the public health situation change and public examinations have to be cancelled I’ve agreed contingencies for alternative awarding arrangements,” says Ms McIlveen, adding they “largely reflect the 2021 arrangements which worked quite smoothly”.
The “safety and well-being” of children is “the top priority for me and my department and informs every decision I make,” says Education Minister Michelle McIlveen.
She is on her feet to respond to this afternoon’s lengthy debate.
“No single measure is the magic bullet,” says the DUP minister, and outlines numerous mitigations which have been implemented in schools, including the wearing of face coverings and one-way systems in schools.
Turning to ventilation and air filtration, Ms McIlveen says the scientific and public health advice is that “nothing is more effective than opening windows and doors”.
Image source, NI Assembly“This motion portrays air filters as the magic solution to ending Covid transmission in schools, which is over simplistic and in no way reflects the complexity of the issue,” says the minister.
She says “a conservative estimate” suggests it would cost around £40m to install air filters across 20,000 classrooms.
“If the evidence supports such investment I will have no hesitation in bidding for such funds to the executive and the minister of finance, however I will not move ahead of the evidence and recklessly spend public money. We must follow the science,” says the former teacher.
Peter Weir, who was Michelle McIlveen's predecessor as education minister, says that part of the reason guidance for schools has not changed is because "the health guidance has not changed".
He asks whether some members, who he says may be "amateur virologists", would "prefer for the minister to go on a solo run" despite the advice of the chief medical officer.
In terms of air filtration, he repeats his DUP colleague Christopher Stalford's point that windows would need to stay open under guidance from the UK's governments scientific advice panel Sage.
"Perhaps some members regard themselves as more sage than Sage themselves?"
Mike Nesbitt of the UUP says he’s conscious members of the public will be tuned into the debate and says he doesn’t think “we should feed the narrative that we’re all wasters and that devolution is useless”.
He says “once the election's over and the votes have been counted, any party that takes its place at that table ceases to be a rival and should be partners in delivery”.
The Strangford MLA adds that he’s not seeing much of that today.
Image source, NI AssemblyKellie Armstrong of the Alliance Party “wants to see solutions” and calls for teaching unions to be listened to.
She asks the minister if she’ll consider making an announcement around school uniforms and enable children, “shivering in classrooms to be permitted to wear whatever they need to to keep warm”.
"I am concerned for these pupils," says Ms Armstrong and seeks further clarity on examination plans.
DUP MLA Christopher Stalford comes out fighting - he says "not one person who has spoken in favour of the motion has indicated the budgetary allocation" that will be needed to implement it.
He calls this the "height of irresponsibility".
The South Belfast representative says the motion is "rank showboating from the SDLP and Sinn Féin".
He adds that the air filtration systems have been held up as a "panacea" to cold classrooms, but those behind the motion should know that for the systems to work "windows in classrooms need to remain open".
Image source, NI Assembly“To say that the minister has managed Covid in schools abysmally would be to put it mildly,” says People Before Profit MLA Gerry Carroll.
The West Belfast representative says schools which had staffing issues before the pandemic are under even further pressure due to the current rise in transmission.
He calls for “proper ventilation in school settings”.
Image source, NI Assembly“It’s quite clear to me that this recall and this motion is and was a stunt, nothing more than that,” says Jim Allister.
The Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) MLA says the three parties who backed the motion, namely Sinn Féin, the SDLP and Alliance, “are in the executive”.
“This is the executive which they are part that they are now tearing apart when it comes to one of those departments,” he says.
Mr Allister adds that “what we’re seeing is the dying months of the disintegration of this executive” in reference to the upcoming assembly election in May.
Image source, NI AssemblySDLP MLA Colin McGrath says it appears that, unlike other sectors where Covid-19 mitigations are in place, "when it comes to school it's practically business as usual - I find that difficult to comprehend".
He says he doesn't want schools to close but "there should be precautions and that requires leadership".
He refers to air filtration systems, noting that we're "not in California" and that the requirement for open windows is causing pupils and staff to have to put on coats and jumpers due to cold temperatures.
Mr McGrath also criticises comments from the finance minister about not being able to grant money until it's asked for, saying it "cuts deep to the dysfunctionality in some places of the executive".
DUP MLA Diane Dodds opens by saying she has engaged with a number of schools in her Upper Bann constituency and that she had heard constantly from teachers about the need to keep schools open.
In terms of staffing, she says there is "no quick or easy fix".
Responding to Sinn Féin MLA Pat Sheehan's call for final-year teaching students to be deployed in schools to alleviate pressures, she says we "have to be careful and very fair to those students who have had much of their higher education experience disrupted because of Covid".
She adds that the chief scientific officer has said schools are safe and that they need to stay open "because of the societal harms that happen when schools are closed".
Image source, NI Assembly“Children in our schools have heightened anxiety and are sitting in a state of worry,” says Pádraig Delargy.
The Sinn Féin MLA says several principals have contacted him “who noted that their heating costs have soared due to open windows, open doors because of the lack of air filtration which is adding further pressure to an already stretched budget”.
“Everyone here wants our schools to remain open,” says Mr Delargy, adding the “solution is simple, ventilation is a simple but effective manner of curbing transmission in Covid in our schools but the message being sent out by the minister and the department is that you simply don’t care”.
Alliance's Chris Lyttle focuses his initial comments on the effect long Covid has on young people.
"It is said by many people today that Covid-19 is a mild disease, and for many people that may be the case. But for others Covid-19 continues to cause long-term sickness, disruption and death," he says.
He says it's important to listen to children and young people affected by Covid-19 and refers to 16-year-old Rosie, who has had long-Covid since getting the virus.
Mr Lyttle says she is not alone in being a young person with long Covid.
"Children like Rosie are asking this assembly and the minister for education what action is being taken to protect them?"
Mr Lyttle calls for "expediating" moves on proper ventilation and that "investment in clean air could be vitally important in limiting the impact of Covid".
Image source, NI AssemblyUlster Unionist Robbie Butler refers to the use of air filtration systems in schools in other jurisdictions.
“Some may have begun to believe that we are now at stage where we can let our guard down and they would be wrong,” says the Lagan Valley representative.
As for Covid prevention measures in schools, he says it’s “vital every measure is taken and not only to reduce the risk but also to build confidence in those who work and learn there”.
In closing, Mr Butler says he and his party will be supporting today’s motion.
It's now SDLP spokesperson Daniel McCrossan - and he is extremely irate at the comments by the DUP's Robin Newton, particularly his reference to the motion as a "pan-nationalist" one.
"Just for the record, all children in Northern Ireland are affected. Don't try to turn something as fundamental as children's education into a sectarian bunfight," says the SDLP MLA.
He adds: "How dare anyone accuse me of signing a pan-nationalist motion. I don't accept it."
Mr McCrossan goes on to say that the SDLP has consistently warned of issues in schools. On staff shortages, he says that there has been no proper plan and that "simply contacting retired teachers on the last day of term" to bring them back to classrooms is "not good enough".
He also says their pensions could be affected by their return, signalling it as another issue that needs to be resolved.
Mr McCrossan says "children and teachers have been failed" when it comes to exam planning and the lack of air filtration.
"I'm not here today to fire buns around the house but I have to say there has to be greater responsibility from those who have led for the last 15 years," he adds, decrying the lack of cooperation between Sinn Féin and the DUP on the issue.
Robin Newton, the education minister’s DUP colleague, says parents “want to know that their children can go to school, that the schools will be open to the children and they want to know that the children will receive face-to-face education”.
He adds that parents want this “because of their education, because of their physical health and because of their mental health”.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe East Belfast MLA says the “pan-nationalist front signing this motion - Sinn Féin, SDLP and Alliance - are the coordinating group, rather than during the pandemic wanting to work with the minister, has sought to criticise, for political advantage, the minister”.
Pat Sheehan opens the debate by outlining the reason for bringing the assembly back early from recess to discuss the issue of Covid pressures in schools.
The Sinn Féin MLA says it “was to give voice to school staff, to parents and to students, to express their frustrations about the way things have been handled in our schools”.
"This situation was entirely predictable,” says Mr Sheehan.
Image source, NI AssemblyThe West Belfast representative explains that he believes there “is no silver bullet or panacea” but calls for a “combination of measures and a range of issues to be introduced in schools to make them safer for staff and for students”.
He lists a variety of issues such as staffing pressures and a lack of substitute teachers, and calls for the implementation of ventilation and air filtration systems in schools.
Image source, NI AssemblyAlex Maskey, the Speaker of the House, opens today’s plenary session.
He brings members to order and wishes them a happy new year before turning to the main item on the agenda.
It’s a debate on Covid-19 in schools.
Sinn Féin’s Pat Sheehan is called to move the motion which he proposed on behalf of his party.
DUP Education Minister Michelle McIlveen is ready and waiting at her podium to respond.
Schools are not the only area of life struggling under the strain of the Omicron Covid-19 variant - the health service has also reported serious staffing issues, while many businesses have said they have had to cut back or close entirely due to staff absences caused by self-isolation.
It reflects the record numbers of Covid cases being reported across Northern Ireland in the past few weeks - for instance, more than 7,800 were reported on New Year's Day.
By comparison, in January last year, there were 1,750 expected cases a day.
However, despite the high numbers the growth in the number of hospitalisations and deaths have - so far - been slow.
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