AQW 29608/22-27

Mr Nick Mathison
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 01/07/2025
Answered On Date: 04/07/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education to detail the amount of funding which has been allocated to the creation of a new Controlled Schools Unit.

Answer:

I am pleased to report that work towards creating a Controlled Schools Unit (CSU) within the Education Authority (EA) is on target to establish this by September 2025.

My officials and the Controlled Schools Support Council (CSSC) have been working in tandem with the EA on this. The EA have confirmed that the Controlled Schools Unit will be established by September 2025 and will be fully operational in early 2026, following further intensive engagement with the controlled school’s sector to gather insights and further shape the unit’s final structure and work programme. Therefore, at this juncture, the full-time equivalent number of staff has still to be confirmed. The CSU will be resourced by internal restructuring and via recruitment where required

A total of £1.2 million was ringfenced as part of the 2025/26 allocation to EA, to develop and create the CSU.