Ballymena school absence rates spike in the wake of violence

The rate of pupils missing school has spiked near to where people rioted for several nights in Ballymena, the education minister has said.

Paul Givan said 84 new pupils at Harryville Primary School have not been attending class since and only 65% of pupils at St Patrick’s have been in class.

Givan, who was answering questions in the Northern Ireland Assembly on Monday, said it is “outrageous” that over the last week children have been traumatised as a result of what has been happening.

He also said “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”.

“So this is an appalling situation, one which is complicated and requires intervention,” he added.

There were several nights of violence in towns across Northern Ireland last week, after rioting first broke out in Ballymena, County Antrim, last Monday.

It came after a peaceful protest over an alleged sexual assault in the town.

Earlier that day, two teenage boys appeared in court accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl. They spoke through an interpreter in Romanian to confirm their names and ages.

After the peaceful protest, rioting broke out that was later described by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) as “racist thuggery”.

Violence also erupted in other towns, including Larne, Londonderry, Belfast and Portadown, on subsequent nights.

The PSNI have said 29 people have been arrested with 21 charged. In total, 64 police officers have been injured.

Givan was speaking in the assembly in response to a question from the Leader of the Opposition, the Social Democratic and Labour Party’s (SDLP’s) Matthew O’Toole, who asked what was being done for children caught up in the disorder.

He said it was alarming that there were cases in which some children were rioting and attacking the houses of classmates.

Givan said his department is engaged with a “number of schools”, the “emotional wellbeing unit within the Education Authority” and “intercultural services to try and provide support”.

He told the assembly both Harryville Primary School and St Patrick’s in Ballymena have seen absence rates spike.

Givan added that this was a “clear problem” that was complicated by the fact that children in both schools were both engaged in the disorder and also the victims of it.

“It’s one that does require concerted effort,” he said, telling O’Toole that he and his team were engaged in trying to provide that support.

“I take a very simple view,” he said.

“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.

“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.”

Givan said he will do “all that I can” to support children in Northern Ireland that need that support.