UUP Education Spokesperson Basil McCrea MLA speaking at the recent National Confederation of Parents and Teachers Association Gold Star Awards at Queen's University Belfast

UUP Education Spokesman Basil McCrea has today spoken of his anger and frustration that parents of children across Northern Ireland have not been offered suitable teacher led nursery places.

“In my constituency alone, there have been around 300 children in the SEELB area who have been told they may have to travel up to an hour each way just to attend a nursery school.  Parents want teacher led pre-school education, and they want it in their own area.”

“It is clear there are not sufficient nursery places, and the Department of Education has not gone far enough to ensure parents are given a choice on where to send their pre-schoolers. “

“This is a refusal by the Education Minister to keep up with demand for nursery school provision, and it’s yet more evidence to show how she has favoured private and community playgroups.”“The benefit of Nursery schools is that they are all led by qualified teachers, and the last inspectorate of schools has shown that -

“Nursery school teaching staff as part of their role are required to identify children with special needs and are able to start the statementing process much earlier.“

“This means that children with special needs will have a head start on going into primary school, and the statement will ensure they will have the access to the right support.”

“The Minister seems to constantly favour non-teacher led pre-school provisions.  The ability for nurseries to increase or decrease their places in line with demand depends on a development plan, which can take up to several years to complete.

“This is not flexible enough to cope with the rise and fall of birth rates in a given period. The process to increase play school places is much less complicated and can be done on a month to month basis. This shows a clear bias by the Minister and totally denies parents their right to choose.”

Ulster Unionist Spokesperson on Education, Basil McCrea MLA

Ulster Unionist Lagan Valley candidate Bail McCrea has responded to Peter Robinson’ latest intervention in the field of education.

Speaking at a hustings event at St Columbs Grammar School in Londonderry Basil McCrea said;

“The Ulster Unionist Party has always been in favour of a single educational system in theory, but the problem has always been the practical outworking of such a system.

Peter Robinson’s latest intervention in the Education debate is most interesting due to the strong rumour circulating that the DUP and Sinn Fein have already done a deal regarding Ministerial portfolios post the election, with the DUP seeking to take Education whilst letting Sinn Fein take Enterprise, Trade & Investment.

What is not in doubt is that the public require real clarity on this issue, because there are many people questioning just how many DUP figures actually believe Peter Robinson’s disingenuous conversion to mainstream politics. It is one thing to make speeches at DUP events and elsewhere but quite another to persuade the party of Clontibret and “Never, never, never, never” that a properly integrated education system is the way forward.

For Peter Robinson to advocate some kind of Commission raises questions as to the value he places on the Assembly and in particular the role and function of the Education Committee.

Parents cannot be forced down a particular road, there must be proper engagement and dialogue.

The Ulster Unionist Party is happy to engage and participate in such dialogue, hence my appearance at St Columbs today.

We support efficiencies in the system, whilst striving to protect what is best.

It is absolutely essential that Education ceases to be used as a political toy, at the mercy of ideologically driven Ministers. What education needs now is people who can build consensus. That is the Ulster Unionist Party.”

UUP Education Spokesperson Basil McCrea joins the protest with colleague Mid-Ulster UUP Candidate Sandra Overend

Today children and young people with severe learning disabilities from Parkview School and other special schools across Northern Ireland, made their way to the Assembly as part of the Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust’s ‘Mile for Music Therapy’ event.

The group handed over a petition to MLAs for the Minister for Health and Social Services, Michael McGimpsey, to register their views for the protection of funding to Northern Ireland Music Therapy Trust. The Trust has helped support approximately 600 children over the past eight years, and are currently at risk of losing all their funding due to reallocation within the budget.

“The Music Therapy services provided by the Trust are vital to the children and young people at Parkview and other schools across Northern Ireland” stated Basil McCrea.

“Music therapists work most commonly with the children and young people who have little or no abilities to communicate via speech. Therefore music therapy allows them a means to communicate and interact.”

“These professionals work alongside physiotherapists, occupational and speech and language therapists to aid the most vulnerable in our society, and help them develop alternative forms of communication.”

“This is a crucial link for parents and loved ones and must be protected in the budget. I will be standing alongside these children and young people today in support of the petition to protect these services for Lagan Valley and beyond.”

One of the Rhythm and Rhyme classes at the Lisburn City Library which meets every Thursday morning

Today Lagan Valley MLA Basil McCrea visited Lisburn City Library as they welcomed around 40 young babies and toddlers under four, into their weekly “Rhythm and Rhyme” sessions.

The UUP Education spokesperson plans to support the benefits of Libraries NI scheme at the Assembly due to the vast range of positive benefits it has to young children’s early development.

“The children here are not only enjoying themselves, but they are receiving the crucial foundations for later education as they are also benefitting from improved concentration, listening skills and expanded social skills for when they enter into a school environment” stated Mr McCrea.

“The children not only have been proven to find words easier to learn during these fun activities, but they also have stimulating actions to go along with their play which has been showed in studies to give them a much greater capacity for language and literacy.”

“Additionally the opportunity to play along to the rhymes with both gestures and instruments captures the babies and toddlers attention, to allow them a new way to bond with both their mothers and others, supporting their emotionally wellbeing as well as their later education.”

“By strengthening these communication skills early, children tend to engage and thrive as they grow approach education with much greater confidence.”

“The Rhythm and Rhyme sessions in Lisburn Library are well loved and supported by the community, and must continue to be supported within the Assembly as well.”

Lisburn City Library runs the Rhyme and Rhyme sessions each Thursday at 10 and 11am. Bookings are limited to one adult place with accompanying children, and due to the overwhelming demand places must be booked on the phone on 02892633355 or in person either on a Wednesday evening between 6 and 8 pm, or on a Thursday morning after 9am.

Other Library’s across Northern Ireland also run the scheme, so those who are interested should contact their local library’s for their times and  arrangements of their own particular sessions.

Lauren Smith from Lagan College, Board Member Basil McCrea and Director of Public Achievement Paul Smyth take a look at the Fair Cop website

The Northern Ireland Policing Board will publish a report on Wednesday 26^th January 2011 at Malone College, Belfast on some aspects of how the PSNI meet their human rights obligations in relation to children and young people.

Public Achievement, a youth based charity, is taking this opportunity to explore the potential of social media as a means of engaging with children and young people on the issues raised in the report.

Speaking about the launch, Chair of the Human Rights and Professional Standards Committee Basil McCrea, said:  “This is the first in a series of interactive and online events that the Policing Board will be carrying out to develop engagement in respect of key policing issues.

We are encouraging anyone who would like to engage on the issues raised within the children and young people’s report to view live streaming of the launch of the report online, participate in the online debate or submit comments through twitter.

You can do this by getting online now to www.faircop.org or send a Tweet using the tag: #faircop.  Contact us before, during or even after the event and, as the event will be streamed live at www.faircop.org, you might get a live response.”

Attending the Education Committe's meeting are Basil McCrea MLA, David Hilditch MLA, Mary Bradley MLA, Prof Daniel Perkins of Penn State University, Mervyn Storey MLA, Chair of the Committee, Prof Tim Shanahan from the University of Illinois, Michelle McIlveen MLA, Julie Healy, Programme Manager of Barnardos & Margaret Kelly, Assistant Director of Policy of Barnardos.

Ulster Unionist Education spokesman Basil McCrea MLA has called on the Education Minister Caitriona Ruane to provide greater clarity on her draft budget proposals for the coming four years.

Commenting after an Education Committee meeting with Minister Caitriona Ruane today, Mr McCrea said:

“At our meeting with the Minister today I specifically asked the Minister for greater clarity on those aspects of her budget regarding envisaged redundancies. I was disappointed when the Minister was not able to provide this clarification to us. Without clarification on these matters it is very difficult to support the calls of the Minister for extra resources for her department.

“This is not the only aspect of the draft budget which members requested more detail on – members also sought further detail regarding the inescapable pressures on her budget that she envisages as well as the proposed draw down by her department of end year flexibility.

“The Minister’s continued inability to provide additional detail on these matters is further proof of the need for a change in Minister and direction at the Education department. We cannot afford to have a Minister in charge who is so blinded by ideology that she prefers to put her head in the sand and blame others for her own failures.”

Basil McCrea MLA for Lagan Valley and UUP spokesperson for Education and Policing can now be view above

A scene of the weather conditions in Scotland - Provided by Flickr user thskyt

The Newsletter published a recent article of Basil McCrea speaking out to encourage schools to prepare for bad weather;

“UUP education spokesman Basil McCrea said the weather-related closure of around 90 schools across Northern Ireland yesterday was understandable in the circumstances – but said schools must make contingency plans as there could be many similar falls of snow in the coming months.

“The principals know best as there are some very difficult local conditions, and provided it’s not a recurring problem then it’s probably better to err on the side of caution.

“However, if there’s any ongoing disruption to children then steps will have to be taken to ensure that our schools stay open.”

Mr McCrea added: “In reaction to these horrendous local conditions then the people on the ground make the decisions they see fit, but we need to make sure that children’s education is not unnecessarily disrupted throughout the winter months.”"

MLA Basil McCrea stepped up the pace in Stormont on Saturday night when he hosted the Daily Mirror Youth Achievers Ball

Today the Daily Mirror published an eight page article praising Basil McCrea’s annual Youth Achievers event at the Stormont Assembly last Saturday night;

The UUP man wanted to salute young people from across Northern Ireland who are tackling community issues such as suicide, addictions, poverty and ill health for the third year running, reported the Mirror.

Basil McCrea said, “This is about young people making a difference in their own lives and helping Northern Ireland grow and mature.”“Throughout the night friends and strangers partied together and there was no mention of ability or disability, religion, backgrounds or politics.”

“This was about everyone coming together in a way which shows our young people are taking the lead.”

Read more online by clicking here

Basil McCrea with the Minister of Education and Vicki Graves and Ciara Bell, two students from Hunter House on Work Experience with Mr McCrea this week

Yesterday Basil McCrea MLA met the finalists for the science students from across Northern Ireland who are competing for BT’s Young Scientist Award of 2011.

Basil McCrea said; “It is exciting to be around so many students with such creative ideas and fresh innovation coming forward to compete for this award. Science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) provide some of the most essential skills for our young people as they make their way through education. “

“The evolving global economy is providing more opportunities than young people have ever had before and with the skills provided by STEM they will have the vital, and key abilities to avail of them.”

The students were also invited to experience the STEM Truck during the event. The 58 metre squared Module/Truck is a mobile laboratory and workshop and provides an interactive workspace with interchangeable teaching resources, allowing it to transform from a biology laboratory one day into an engineering workshop the next.

The BT Young Scientist & Technology Exhibition 2011 has seen a total of 1,735 entries with 78 projects entered from the north of Ireland. Twenty seven projects from 16 schools in the north have qualified to compete in the finals in the RDS, Dublin in January 2011.