Sinn Féin North Belfast MLAs Carál Ní Chuilín and have said that ‘no child
should be left behind’ and young children and their families
should receive the necessary support and proper resources to
ensure they reach their full potential at an early age.
Speaking after convening a meeting with senior officials from the
Department of Education and local schools, Carál Ní Chuilín said:
“As elected representatives for North Belfast, we felt it
appropriate to convene today’s meeting in order to give the
schools that fall within the top ten percent of the most deprived
wards in the north, an opportunity to participate in discussions
to find a way forward on children reaching their potential.
“The latest Multiple Deprivation Measure rankings, published in
November 2017, confirm the sobering reality that the inner North
Belfast communities continue to be amongst the most deprived
across the north of Ireland.
“Four of the ten most deprived Super Output Areas (SOAs) across
the state, and 6 of the 16 most deprived SOAs, are to be found in
the three inner north Belfast wards of Ardoyne, Water Works and
New Lodge.
“These areas also continue to be characterised by issues relating
to the legacy of the conflict.
“In terms of concentrated levels of deprivation, those figures
objectively illustrate how there is no comparable geographic
district of scale with a similar profile of deprivation according
to the multiple deprivation measure ranking.
“Investing in the primary school sector is central to ensuring
that children do not get left behind. Schools require significant
and sustained investment to ensure that the many formidable
barriers that act to prevent children from many
socio-economically deprived backgrounds from fulfilling their
academic potential are overcome.
“Sinn Féin believe there is an obligation on the Department of
Education to meet the needs of children, and to recognize that
the challenge of effectively tackling deep-rooted deprivation
starts with investing in the youth.”
