Absence rates spike at schools closest to Ballymena disorder
Violent scenes broke out in Ballymena last Monday after an alleged sexual assault of a 14-year-old girl at the weekend.
Following a peaceful protest, there were attacks on the homes of some residents – as well as rioting.
Mr Givan was speaking during questions for his department in the Assembly on Monday, in response to being asked by Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole what is being done for children caught up in the disorder.
Mr Givan said is it 'outrageous' that over the last week children have been coming into school traumatised as a result of what has been happening.
'Alarmingly, we're also dealing with some children who engaged in the rioting and attacked some of the houses of the very children in their class,' he said.
'So this is an appalling situation, one which is complicated and requires intervention.
'My team have been engaged with a number of schools as a result of the picture that we have had to deal with. We have engaged the emotional wellbeing unit within the Education Authority, the intercultural services and try and provide support for these schools.'
He said Harryville Primary School and St Patrick's Primary School in Ballymena had seen absence at half of the school.
'That is a clear problem, but it's also complicated by the fact that we are dealing with children in both schools that were engaged in this trouble and children in both schools that were the victims of that trouble, and it's one that does require concerted effort, and to assure the member I and my team are very much engaged in trying to provide that support,' he said.
He added: 'I've been hugely impressed as I go around schools where I see the many different newcomers within controlled schools, Catholic maintained schools, integrated schools, and the work that goes on by the school leaders and the teachers to ensure that there is an inclusive environment where diversity is respected and indeed celebrated.
'Our schools have often been the safe haven within their communities where outside of the school walls, there have been challenges.
'What has happened in a number of these schools I find particularly alarming, and that is why there needs to be support and my team at senior levels have been engaging in respect all of this.
'I take a very simple view – there is a time and a place to debate immigration policy, but whenever you are in Northern Ireland, and particularly whenever you are a child in Northern Ireland from whatever background, you have to be treated with respect, you have to be supported, and you need to be protected, and that has not been the case over the past week, and that is wrong, and I absolutely condemn what has happened in respect of these particular issues.
'I will do all that I can to support those within our school environments that need that support.'
Mr Givan went on to say that his own family supported a family from Ukraine, with three children staying with his parents in Co Armagh.
'They went to schools that went out of their way to make them feel welcome, and they regard Northern Ireland as their home and they will be here for many years to come, and they should be welcome here in Northern Ireland,' he added.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Belfast Telegraph
4 hours ago
- Belfast Telegraph
Tyrone priest slams ‘dark forces' in drugs trade after death of young parishioner
A Catholic priest has warned that the 'scourge of drugs' is having a 'devastating' impact on rural communities and causing the deaths of too many young people.
Economist
11 hours ago
- Economist
The colourful civic groups that hold Germany together
TUCKED away in the car park of a drinks warehouse, hundreds of men in green jackets and feathered caps, plus a handful of women, are swapping gossip and glugging beer. Suddenly comes the call: ' Schützenbrüder antreten! ' (marksmen line up), and the men fall into columns as a brass band strikes up. They begin a good-natured, not especially disciplined parade up the streets of Arnsberg, a small town in Germany's Sauerland region, hollering ' Horrido! ', an old hunting cry, to well-wishers. Soon they arrive at a large tent where, after a Catholic mass, the festivities begin: speeches, dancing and a lot of beer. Later that evening—having been forced to learn, somewhat against his will, a dance called the 'discofox'—your correspondent takes his leave as a conga line begins.
Sky News
a day ago
- Sky News
Who is Jimmy Lai? 'Prisoner of conscience' who has endured 1,600 days behind bars
Hong Kong media tycoon Jimmy Lai has been in a high-security prison for more than 1,600 days. The 77-year-old was arrested over his role in pro-democracy protests in 2019 and has since been charged with various offences, including collusion with foreign forces, as well as sedition under colonial-era laws. His trial for alleged national security offences has faced lengthy delays, but is due to restart in Hong Kong on Thursday. Here is everything you need to know about the "world's most famous prisoner of conscience" and his trial, as it draws ever closer to a long-awaited conclusion. Who is Jimmy Lai? Lai was born in mainland China but fled to Hong Kong at the age of 12, after stowing away on a fishing boat. Here, he began working as a child labourer in a garment factory. He went on to build a fortune with the fashion empire Giordano and, after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre, when thousands of people protested for political reforms in Beijing, he became a democracy advocate and turned his hand to newspapers. Ahead of the 1997 handover of Hong Kong from the UK to China, he started the Chinese-language newspaper Apple Daily in an attempt to maintain freedom of speech. The paper was staunchly pro-democratic and did not shy away from criticising authorities in Beijing. Around the same time, in 1994, he became a full British citizen. He has never held a Chinese or Hong Kong passport, but is seen as a Chinese citizen by Hong Kong authorities. Why is he in jail? It was his pro-democratic beliefs that led to Lai becoming a key figure in the 2019 protests in Hong Kong, spurred by Beijing's tightening squeeze on wide-ranging freedoms. Lai's Apple Daily newspaper backed the protesters, criticising the government reforms. Lai and his sons were arrested in August 2020 after police raided the offices of the Apple Daily publisher, Next Digital. He was granted bail, but this was overturned in December of the same year, when Lai was charged with fraud. He was charged under the very national security laws, put in place in 2020, that he had protested. The charges include collusion with foreign forces, as well as conspiracy to print and distribute seditious publications. Lai has been in solitary confinement for most of his imprisonment. During this time, he has lost a significant amount of weight and his son, Sebastien Lai, has consistently raised concerns for his father's declining health. His legal team has claimed he has been denied independent medical care for diabetes, is only allowed out of his cell for 50 minutes a day and, as a devout Catholic, has been denied the Eucharist. However, this week the South China Morning Post has reported a Hong Kong government spokesman saying that Lai had received appropriate treatment and welfare in prison. What has happened during his trial so far? After years of delay, Lai's national security trial started in December 2023. Prosecutors allege that Lai conspired with senior executives at Apple Daily to publish 161 seditious articles intended to incite hatred toward the central or Hong Kong governments. They labelled him a "radical political figure" and accused him of asking the US and other foreign countries to impose sanctions on Hong Kong and mainland China. The charges he faces under the territory's national security law could see him handed a life sentence. But Lai has always denied the charges against him. Nearly a year after the trial started, in November 2024, Lai took to the stand to testify. During his 52 days on the stand he faced questions about his editorial control over Apple Daily, links to activists in Hong Kong, the UK and US - and about alleged meetings with US politicians. Closing arguments in the trial were due to start on 28 July, but were delayed until 14 August. The next hearing is due to last around eight days. How is the British government involved? As he is a British citizen, the UK government expressed concern when Lai was first charged under the national security law in 2020. Subsequent British governments, including the current Labour one, have said Lai's imprisonment is a breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration - the 1984 agreement which set out the conditions of the transfer of Hong Kong from the UK to China. Three months after winning the general election, Sir Keir Starmer said securing Lai's release was a "priority" for his government and said his government would "continue" to raise the case with China. Most recently, during a January trip to China, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she raised the question over Lai's imprisonment with every minister she met. Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he has also pressed Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi on Lai's detention during previous visits. In March, Lai's son, Sebastien, delivered a letter to 10 Downing Street asking for a meeting with Sir Keir to get his father released immediately. He said he was worried his father might die in prison and the case is a "litmus test" for the government to see if it will stand up to China for a British citizen who is in jail "for peaceful campaigning and journalism".
