Latest news with #DaphneCaine
BBC News
2 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Tynwald backs new Childcare Inclusion Scheme
Tynwald has backed a move to improve childcare provision for those with additional Childcare Inclusion Scheme, which will be launched in September, makes funding available to nursery and early education providers along with guidance to improve follows the Childcare Strategy backed by Tynwald in 2022 highlighting a shortfall in the area, and funding announced in the 2025.26 budget to improve access for children with complex Minister Daphne Caine said it was an "important step" towards inclusive childcare. The scheme "recognises that some children need more support to access early education and childcare and that providers need the right tools to offer it", she said. 'Big gap' Providers will be able to apply for up to £8,568 of funding per year to provide enhanced staffing ratios and specialist resources to better support eligible £468 per eligible child will be made available to enhance the setting and make it accessible beyond reasonable Lawrie Hooper said while he was "supportive" of the proposals, the funding did not apply for childcare providers for before and after school clubs."That is a big gap", he said, because then as children go through the ages, "the funding doesn't follow them".He questioned how the Department of Education, Sport and Culture would ensure they continued to be Julie Edge asked where there were spaces available for children in existing childcare and early education provision on the said a childcare working group would look at whether there was a need to develop "a more specialist complex needs nursery" from July said an estimated £1.73m was being made available to deliver the scheme. The department had a "statutory obligation" to meet additional needs during school term time, but not for holiday clubs and after school clubs, Caine added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
24-06-2025
- General
- BBC News
University College Isle of Man drops three degree courses
Three undergraduate degrees at the Isle of Man's only university will no longer be provided from September, the education minister has confirmed. Daphne Caine MHK said University College Isle of Man (UCM), which offers about 40 courses, would no longer be providing the courses in History and Heritage, Creative Practice or Health and Social said the decision followed a review of application numbers, progression and achievement rates in previous years, and was due to "viability" and student BBC has contacted UCM for comment. MHK Julie Edge said the decision, which was made at Easter, had been communicated to students after the UCAS application period closed for the year. 'Fairest way' Questioning what the cost saving was, Lawrie Hooper said it was "difficult to see a retrenchment of higher education on the island".He argued students would go elsewhere and it could cost the department more as they were now going to be eligible for grants and maintenance awards that they may not have been if studying at UCM. Caine told the House of Keys the island's higher education provider offered a variety of other courses and the admissions team could support students through the process. She said her department was undertaking a "holistic review" of student awards to meet the demand in the "fairest way possible".She also told members a review of the support for students going to university was said more students were now "opting to earn as they learn" while undertaking courses or distance-learning, and there was an increase in those choosing to study at review was looking at current earning thresholds, the amount of fees covered, and grants available, as well as "how we can divide the cake to best support all students on various household incomes", she said.A report on the issues was set to go before Tynwald by the autumn, with revised student awards to come into effect by September 2026, she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
17-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
£13k cost of Douglas swimming pool damage surveys revealed
A total of £13,000 has been spent on investigations into the cause of damage at the the main pool at the Isle of Man's National Sports Centre, it has emerged.A 16ft (5m) stretch of two of the lanes in the pool have been closed since November 2023 after a fault was identified with the flooring at the centre in Sport and Culture Minister Daphne Caine told Tynwald the department had been "eager to understand the root cause" of the issue at the confirmed a series of investigations and specialist reports had now been completed, and the department was currently considering the findings. The swimming complex at the sports centre has faced a number of problems since a £4.4m revamp began in 2018, including lengthy delays to the reopening of the leisure pool and water slides. Calling for an update on the progress of the investigations, Jason Moorhouse MHK said the timescale to find a resolution had been a costs had been £10,500 for a site visit and report and £2,500 for material analysis, Caine were also in dialogue with the main contractor about the outcome of the surveys and the minister said she would be able to provide a further progress report once those meetings had taken department had expected repair work would have been completed by September 2025 to ensure school swimming would not be affected, but that was now unlikely, she added. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
Isle of Man education minister reveals cost of schools inspections
The education minister has reversed a decision not to reveal how much it was costing to send external inspectors into Isle of Man schools. Daphne Caine had previously declined to say how much money was being spent on the external validators despite concerns raised by MHKs about value for has now confirmed that it costs between £150,000 and £250,000 for the validators to undertake visits of up to eight weeks, observe and speak to staff and pupils and decide what could be improved. In an email to Tynwald members, Caine said she had been "reflecting" on matters raised in the House of Keys on Tuesday and noted many felt it was acceptable to provide a cost range for the three-year contract. 'Provide assurance' She would not provide the exact figure having argued that it could impact commercial sensitivity and the government's ability to get "best value for money" in this week's House of Keys sitting, Lawrie Hooper estimated that based on information made public by the UK government, the cost of the contract was between £150,000 and £250,000. Kate Lord-Brennan said there was "political support" for a cost range to be provided and Jason Moorhouse questioned whether the department was paying "too much" for the the price bracket, Caine said it included costs of travel, accommodation and expenses of the external validation team . It also covered the compilation of the information gathered and annual overviews, she told members."I hope this will provide reassurance as to the value for money obtained through the contract to enable independent external validation of all schools and educational services", she added there were plans to improve the information provided to parents and carers after the validation visits to schools. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X.
Yahoo
11-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
School review cost 'not in public interest'
Publishing the costs of a contract with an education review provider could reduce the government's ability to get "best value for money" in future, the education minister has said. Daphne Caine has defended her department's decision not to release the amount paid to external validators Etio in response to a Tynwald question for written answer. She told the House of Keys that as her department was in the second of a three year contract with the firm it was "not in the public interest" to release the information. But MHK Lawrie Hooper said the costs were "routinely made available by the UK in relation to the exact company and the services they provide". Hooper said the rationale was "nonsense", and said based on figures released by the UK government indicated the Manx services would "probably cost between £150,000 and £250,000". Cain suggested she could share the figure confidentially with the Public Accounts Committee. During Tuesday's sitting, Kate Lord-Brennan called for the minister to provide a cost range for the report, arguing releasing the information was about "education delivery, standards, and public money, not about Etio". Chris Thomas MHK said it was "unusual" not to share the costs even when a contract was live, and noted that Treasury had published the terms of contracts in the past. Concerns were also raised by Julie Edge MHK, who said she did not understand why there was "so much resistance when it is such an important piece of work for our schools". Tim Glover MHK questioned how released the figure confidentially would restore and maintain public confidence. Caine said it was not in the public interest if it "breached" commercial confidentiality, and the competitiveness of future bids was "compromised". She said the department would "likely" go out for tender in the next six months, and sharing the cost could limit the "commercial competitiveness so that all bids come in within a ball park". That was "not serving the best interest of the Isle of Man community", she said. Read more stories from the Isle of Man on the BBC, watch BBC North West Tonight on BBC iPlayer and follow BBC Isle of Man on Facebook and X. School reviews 'foundation' for future improvement School review framework to be published in July Manx school processes external reviews to begin Covid review backs up teachers' concerns - union Department for Education, Sport and Culture Tynwald
