Education Committee Commends the Final Report from the Expert Panel on Educational Underachievement

7 Oct 2021 01:03 AM

The Assembly’s Education Committee yesterday commended the Action Plan of the Fair Start Report from the Expert Panel on educational underachievement in Northern Ireland.

The Expert Panel was set up in September 2020 to examine the links between educational underachievement and socio-economic background and included members from academia, school principals and community educational advocates.

Speaking after the Committee heard from the Expert Panel, Committee Chairperson Chris Lyttle MLA yesterday said:

“The Committee is very pleased to see the release of the Action Plan which accompanies this important report, and we applaud the work of all involved. This robust work is of the greatest importance and we pledge to ensure that it is followed by real action.

“We also believe that, in order to achieve a better outcome for all children, the Action Plan contained in the report must be coupled with a long-term, multi-year funding commitment by the Executive. This is the only way that we can finally break the link between socio-economic status and educational attainment.

“We look forward to seeing the cross-departmental implementation of the recommendations contained in the report.”

Notes to Editors

The Expert Panel was formed under the New Decade, New Approach agreement that set out the requirement “to establish an expert group to examine the links between persistent educational underachievement and socio-economic background and draw up an action plan for change that will ensure all children and young people, regardless of background, are given the best start in life”.

The report can be accessed on the Assembly’s website: Education Committee Commends the Final Report from the Expert Panel on Educational Underachievement

Committee Membership

Chris Lyttle MLA (Chairperson)

Pat Sheehan MLA (Deputy Chairperson)

Diane Dodds MLA

Harry Harvey MLA

Robin Newton MBE MLA

Nicola Brogan MLA

Daniel McCrossan MLA

Justin McNulty MLA

Robbie Butler MLA

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