AQW 18900/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 14/05/2021
Answered On Date: 18/05/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for the rationale used to exclude year 11 from consideration for COVID-19 protection measures provided for Years 12, 13 and 14.

Answer:

My Department works closely with the Department of Health (DoH), the Education Authority (EA) and the Public Health Agency (PHA). This engagement has continued throughout the pandemic to maintain the education of children, to reduce the risk of outbreaks, and to respond when these occur.

I accepted a proposal from the PHA to introduce Lateral Flow Device (LFD) testing in schools for pupils in Years 12-14 following the lifting of restrictions by the Executive. This added an additional mitigation measure in post-primary schools, thereby allowing them to further reduce the potential of infections by identifying cases at an early stage.

At the time, the Regulator had only cleared the use of LFD tests for people aged 16 and over. Therefore, in order to expedite the introduction of the additional mitigation, it was agreed that testing should be introduced to Years 12-14 initially. This excluded Year 11 pupils at the time of the introduction of the LFD due to it not being sanctioned for use on persons under the age of 16.

This roll out of testing took account of the views of a number of school principals across the educational sector via the Education Practitioners Group and the views of the various Trade Union bodies, as well as colleagues from the EA and the PHA.

Discussions are ongoing on the further potential roll out of testing, but any decisions will be based on the current medical and scientific advice available.