improving government service delivery to minority ethnic ... - NCCRI

Case Example 4 – Employment 110
Business in the Community
Business in the Community which describes itself as, ‘a unique movement in the UK and Ireland of over 750
member companies’, has developed a voluntary code of practice on employing migrant workers/overseas
staff in Northern Ireland. It is to this that O’Kane Poultry have signed up. The Code has been designed to
‘clearly identify a range of workers’ rights and employer’s responsibilities’. It states that the Code is not a legal
obligation but a guide to ‘reinforce best practice in relation to the employment of migrant workers’. In addition to
this Business in the Community have a website also offering further advice and help to employers.
Targeting: Education
The Good Practice Guide for Racial Equality in Education 111 states that “over the past number of years
concern has been expressed about the potential underachievement of children from black and minority ethnic
communities in Northern Ireland”. Connolly and Keenan 112 also found children from minority ethnic groups, and
indeed their parents, had difficulties within the education system, mainly in terms of language barriers and lack
of support with English as a second language.
110_www.
guide2migrantworkers.
org.uk
111_Equality Commission
(2001) Racial Equality in
Education A Good Practice
Guide.
112_Connolly, P and
Keenan, M (2000)
Opportunities for all.
Minority ethnic people’s
experiences of education,
training and employment in
Northern Ireland. NISRA.
113_www.selb.org
Discussions with the Belfast Education and Library Board (BELB) for this study indicated that funding restricts
what can be done but that support is given for children learning English as an Additional Language (EAL). In
addition it was highlighted that interpreters are available for parents during parent consultation evenings and
that this service has been set up for a few years.
Within the Southern Education and Library Board (SELB) there have been a number of initiatives put in place to
help children from minority ethnic groups and their parents. One example has been the development of a visual
letter with the use of pictures and visuals as opposed to words thus appropriate for non-English speakers.
However it was stressed by representatives of SELB that there was a need to develop more user-friendly
documentation to enable increased communication with parents.
Case Example 5 – Education (Primary and Secondary Level)
North South Project – SELB and IILT 113
SELB are involved in a North South project organised by Integrate Ireland Language and Training (IILT). The
project aims to ‘explore how structural and management issues must be addressed in order to meet the
educational needs from non-English speaking backgrounds; and to develop a toolkit to provide support for
principals and teachers in addressing the language and learning needs of non-English speaking children in the
primary classroom’.
SELB highlight in their report a series of recommendations including:
1. It is essential that budgetary provision has adequate flexibility so that the needs of schools, resulting from
the arrival of newcomer pupils during the school year may be addressed appropriately; and
2. There should be access to contingency budgets.