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News
Education and Skills Authority (ESA) Board - Church of Ireland Transferor member
The Board of Education NI is seeking expressions of interest from church members who have appropriate experience and are able to give the time commitment in being nominated as a transferor member of the Board of the Education and Skills Authority.
The Board encourages church members with a deep interest in the education of children in schools and the provision of youth services, to consider seriously the possibility of service as a transferor representative. This is an exciting opportunity to be involved in the shaping of schools and influencing the quality of education of children for the future. It is equally a wonderful opportunity to serve the church and bring faith-based perspective and expertise to a really important area of public life.
An information pack including an application form to express interest is available from:
Revd IW Ellis, Sec to the Board of Education NI, Church of Ireland House, 61-67 Donegall St., Belfast. BT1 2QH.
Tel 028 90828860 or email edunorth@ireland.anglican.org
This post is for four years, requires a time commitment of up to five days per month and is remunerated. Completed expressions of interest to be received by: Friday 1st March 2013
Background information
The legislation to enable the establishment of the Education and Skills Authority (ESA) is currently at the committee stage in the NI Assembly. The legislation will bring together the five Education and Library Boards, the Youth Council, Staff Commission and the statutory functions of the Council for Catholic Maintained Schools (CCMS).
The creation of this single authority for all schools in Northern Ireland represents the most significant change in administration of education in forty years. ESA will be the employing authority for all staff in grant-aided schools and its main functions will be: Improving education and raising standards in schools, planning the schools' estate, providing support for school governors and providing key services to schools eg, school transport, school maintenance, school meals, and youth services.
ESA will be governed by a Board of 20 members of whom 8 will be persons nominated by the political parties determined by their representation in the Assembly. The Minister will appoint a Chairperson and 4 Catholic Trustee nominees, 4 Transferor nominees and 4 persons representative of the community in NI.
It is anticipated that ESA will become operational during the latter half of 2013 and until that time the ELBs etc will continue to deliver key services to schools. In the interim a shadow ESA will begin work to ensure everything is in place to enable a switch over of authority at an appropriate future date.
The transferor churches, that is, the Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist Churches, which transferred their schools into state control in the early 20th century, have a right to nominate a total of 4 persons to the Minister for appointment to the ESA Board.
The three churches have devised their own processes to bring forward nominations. The Board of Education NI on behalf of the Church of Ireland has decided to seek expressions of interest from church members.
A panel from the Board will meet interested persons in order to make a decision on nomination. The exact division of the four places among the three churches will be agreed by the Transferor Representatives' Council.