AQW 48102/22-27 – Artificial Intelligence educational support

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education whether any assessment has been made by his Department of the potential for Artificial Intelligence tools to improve access to educational support for children with special educational needs and disabilities in rural areas. Minister of Education: Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI) is not a replacement … Continue reading AQW 48102/22-27 – Artificial Intelligence educational support

AQW 48666/22-27 – Impact of social media use on educational outcomes

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education whether any assessment has been made by his Department of the impact of social media use on educational outcomes for children and young people. Minister of Education: The department has not undertaken a specific standalone assessment of the impact of social media use on … Continue reading AQW 48666/22-27 – Impact of social media use on educational outcomes

AQW 47761/22-27 – Sign language fluency in schools

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail any steps he has taken to increase sign language fluency in schools. Minister of Education: Provision for sign language in education sits alongside wider arrangements to support children and young people with additional needs to access the curriculum and participate fully in … Continue reading AQW 47761/22-27 – Sign language fluency in schools

AQW 44297/22-27 – Improving SEND provision in mainstream schools

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail any steps he is taking to help improve SEND provision in mainstream schools. Minister of Education: My department and the Education Authority (EA) are working intensively to improve special educational needs (SEN) provision in mainstream schools. Members are aware that I wrote … Continue reading AQW 44297/22-27 – Improving SEND provision in mainstream schools

AQW 47762/22-27 – Free school meals

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education whether any recent assessment has been made of the potential merits of providing free school meals to all school children. Minister of Education: Free school meals (FSM) continue to provide vital help to many low-income families. For some children, access to a nutritious school … Continue reading AQW 47762/22-27 – Free school meals

AQW 47406/22-27 – Nutritional standards for school menus

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 45212/22-27, to detail any steps his Department is taking to update the nutritional standards for school menus, bringing them in line with the latest dietary advice, including on fibre. Minister of Education: My Department completed a review of the nutritional standards … Continue reading AQW 47406/22-27 – Nutritional standards for school menus

AQW 46432/22-27 – Safeguarding standards in schools

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail any steps he is taking to ensure safeguarding standards are applied consistently across all types of schools. Minister of Education: I am clear that consistently high standards of safeguarding must be upheld in every school, irrespective of sector or management arrangements. The … Continue reading AQW 46432/22-27 – Safeguarding standards in schools

AQW 45332/22-27 – Autism support guidelines for schools

Mr Patsy McGlone (Mid Ulster): To ask the Minister of Education to detail any steps his Department is taking to ensure the adequacy of support guidelines in (i) primary; and (ii) secondary, schools for children with autism. Minister of Education: The Education Authority (EA) Local Impact Teams (LITs) recognise and value neurodiversity and are committed … Continue reading AQW 45332/22-27 – Autism support guidelines for schools