Alliance Party MLA for Strangford
Every written and oral question Nick has tabled to Executive ministers and the Assembly Commission since 18 May 2022, with the answers.
Nick’s profile on the NI Assembly website (opens in a new tab)About this site
Showing the 20 most recent of 1,458 questions.
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 51564/22-27, to detail the amount of funding spent to date on the implementation of Leading Together for Excellence: A TransformED NI Strategy for Teacher Professional Learning.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54620/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 53269/22-27, to detail any criteria used to identify stakeholders who participated in the June 2026 workshop.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54619/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 53269/22-27, whether the non-statutory preschool sector was involved in the June 2026 workshop.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54618/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education, pursuant to AQW 53269/22-27, to detail any opportunities there were for the wider early years sector to contribute to the June 2026 workshop.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54617/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail the current average wait time for an MOT appointment at the Newtownards test centre.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54474/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure to detail any steps she is taking to address the ongoing backlog for MOT appointments.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54473/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any vacant or unused Education Authority buildings that are currently being heated.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 54359/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education for an update on the publication date of the Early Learning and Childcare Strategy.
The Early Learning and Childcare Strategy is currently being finalised, taking account of the responses received through the public consultation. I intend to bring the revised Strategy to Executive colleagues in the coming weeks.
Publication and implementation of the proposed actions will be subject to Executive approval and the availability of the necessary funding.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53858/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any ways in which his Department will ensure that professional autonomy of teachers is protected with the implementation of Curriculum 2028.
The proposed Northern Ireland Curriculum 2028 provides a common minimum entitlement for all learners by setting out the knowledge, skills and understanding that pupils should develop. This is intended to provide greater clarity and consistency in what is taught across schools.
Within this framework, teachers will continue to exercise professional judgement in planning and delivering learning to meet the needs of their pupils. While the curriculum is clearer about what pupils are entitled to learn, schools and teachers will retain flexibility in how learning is organised and delivered. Implementation guidance and resources will be developed to support teachers and will complement, rather than prescribe, classroom practice.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53733/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any ways in which curriculum and assessment will remain appropriately connected through the implementation of Curriculum 2028.
Curriculum, assessment and qualifications reform are being progressed as interconnected strands of the TransformED programme, led by my Department’s senior management in conjunction with the relevant education partners. This will help ensure coherence between what pupils are expected to learn, how learning is assessed, and how achievement is recognised.
As Curriculum 2028 is implemented, assessment arrangements will continue to be considered alongside curriculum reform to support progression in learning and alignment between curriculum, assessment and qualifications. High-quality guidance and curriculum resources will be developed to support classroom practice, learning and assessment.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53732/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any ways in which Curriculum 2028 will protect (i) play-based; and (ii) developmentally appropriate pedagogy in practice.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53731/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any evidence that has demonstrated that a a subject-framework structure is the most appropriate response for Foundation Stage of Curriculum 2028.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53730/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any ways in which primary-principal engagement undertaken during the 2024/25 continuation of the NI Curriculum refresh informed the development of Curriculum 2028
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53729/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister for Communities to detail how the revised draft Anti-Poverty Strategy and Action Plan address the financial pressures faced by families with disabled or seriously ill children in trying to access (i) treatment; and (ii) essential items.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53613/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister for Infrastructure for her response to the petition submitted to the Speaker on 28 September 2026 calling for improved road safety measures in Darragh Cross.
I recognise the strength of feeling reflected in this petition and the genuine concerns of residents in Darragh Cross about vehicle speeds, pedestrian accessibility and safety in the village. Road safety is a high priority for my Department, and I fully appreciate the importance of ensuring that local people - particularly children, older people and those with disabilities - can move around their community as safely as possible.
The Department has previously assessed both the speed limit and pedestrian crossing provision in accordance with its established, evidence-based policies. Those assessments considered the road environment, traffic conditions, prevailing speeds, pedestrian activity and PSNI collision data. On the evidence available, the current permanent speed limit was considered appropriate and the location did not meet the criteria for a controlled crossing.
However, that does not mean that residents’ concerns are being dismissed. A part-time 20mph School Safety Zone operates on all four approaches to the crossroads at school arrival and departure times, and dropped kerbs and tactile paving have been provided to improve accessibility for pedestrians.
I have asked officials to continue to monitor conditions in Darragh Cross and to consider carefully the issues raised through the petition, alongside any new evidence or representations.
Should there be a material change in traffic conditions, pedestrian activity or collision history, the Department will review the position and consider whether further measures are justified.
The Department will remain engaged on this matter and will continue to work with elected representatives, the local community and the PSNI.
You will also be aware that the response to the Speed Limit Review consultation, which was published in August, is informing the next stage of the review and the development of speed related proposals, including the lowering of speed limits on rural roads.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQO 4108/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail any steps pre-school settings can take to engage with modelling work to inform stakeholder workshops on alternative Pupil Allocation Number allocation models.
The EA completed its review of pre-school admissions and Pupil Allocation Numbers (PAN) processes in June 2025 and the report is available on the EA website here.
Implementation of the actions contained in the Review is ongoing and as part of this work the EA held a workshop with pre-school education stakeholders in June 2026 to review and consider alternative models for the allocation of Pupil Allocation Numbers. Any setting wishing to engage with the EA about pre-school provision can make contact directly via psep@eani.org.uk.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53269/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail why updated school uniform guidelines state that school uniform policies are to provide the option for girls to wear trousers throughout the school year, including for PE and games, rather than stating school uniform policies must provide this option, which reflects language used in other guidelines.
The words "are to" mean the same as "must" in the context of the Guidelines. All grant-aided and independent primary and post-primary schools must provide the option in their uniform policies for girls to wear trousers throughout the school year, including for PE and games from the 2027-2028 schoolyear onwards.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 53164/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail when the new Education (Curriculum Minimum Content) Order for Curriculum 2028 will be brought forward.
A timeframe for bringing forward the legislation required to implement Curriculum 2028 has not yet been determined. The timing will be informed by the outcome of the public consultation on the proposed curriculum framework, which closes on 30 September 2026.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 52911/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education to detail whether extensive processing instruction will be included as a pedagogy as part of implementation guidance on the new modern languages framework.
I refer the Member to the answer given to AQW 51076, 51232 and 51233/22-27 answered on 22 September and published in the weekly answer booklet, week ending 25 September 2026.
Further curriculum guidance, including pedagogical principles, will be published in due course.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 52778/22-27) (opens in a new tab)
To ask the Minister of Education whether international evidence on the effectiveness of Extensive Processing Instruction as an approach to teaching modern languages will inform implementation guidance on the new modern languages framework.
I refer the Member to the answer given to AQW 51076, 51232 and 51233/22-27 answered on 22 September and published in the weekly answer booklet, week ending 25 September 2026.
Further curriculum guidance, including pedagogical principles, will be published in due course.
View on the NI Assembly website (AQW 52777/22-27) (opens in a new tab)