Interim Policy for the Provision of Services and Information in Ulster – Scots

1.1    Background

For the administration of its functions, the principal language of the EA is English.

Everyone is entitled to respect and courtesy, which extends to their culture, heritage, and language. The Education Authority recognises Ulster-Scots, in all its forms, as an expression of the cultural wealth of Northern Ireland and our unique role in promoting and the language, culture and heritage of Ulster-Scots.

The EA recognises our responsibilities under;

• The European Convention on Human Rights;
• The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
• The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights;
• The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child;
• European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages;
• Framework Convention for the Protection of National Minorities;
• UNESCO Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.

The EA, as an Arm’s Length Body of the Department of Education, is subject to the obligations contained within these international treaties by virtue of the UK governments ratification.

These provisions are integral to protecting and promoting cultural and linguistic minorities.

1.2    Purpose   

This Interim Policy for the Provision of Services and Information in Ulster-Scots (the Policy)  is to assist Education Authority (EA) officers in making decisions around the provision of information and services in respect of Ulster-Scots, including arrangements for those seeking to interact with the EA in Ulster-Scots.

This is an interim Policy which may be updated and / or replaced following the appointment of Commissioners, emanating from Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Bill, and the New Decade New Approach political agreement.

The Policy will support increased and better awareness of Ulster-Scots and how it relates to the provision of education services for EA officers. The Policy is a Corporate Services Policy and will ensure that EA officers apply consistent judgement to the provision of information and EA services in respect of Ulster-Scots.

The Northern Ireland Executive draft Strategy to Enhance and Develop Ulster- Scots Language, Heritage and Culture 2015 – 2035 recognises the importance of enhancing and developing the Ulster-Scots language, heritage, and culture.

The draft Strategy seeks to promote increased awareness about Ulster-Scots and highlight the positive and significant role of Ulster-Scots for all our community. The Education Authority, as a large public authority has a role to play in fulfilling the aims of the NI Executive Strategy.

This scope of this policy therefore covers the provision of information and the delivery of corporate services of the Authority and does not cover Ulster-Scots provision in the curriculum. Following the agreement of New Decade New Approach there is likely to be a new Statutory Duty applied to the Department of Education to ‘encourage and facilitate the use and understanding of Ulster Scots in the education system’.

The Chair, Chief Executive and Board Members are accountable for the overall performance of EA. Matters of equality, good relations and human rights are central to this accountability and central to the discharge of governance responsibilities.

3.1 The Chief Executive is accountable to the Board for the development, implementation, maintenance, and review of the Interim Ulster- Scots Policy.

3.2 Corporate Leadership Team Members are responsible for:

• providing assurance to the Board; and
• seeking assurance that the Interim Ulster- Scots Policy is being applied correctly.

3.3 Directors are responsible for:

• ensuring that all lead policy officers have been trained; and
• providing assurance to the Chief Executive and the Board that decisions in their area of responsibility have been made in line with this policy.

3.4 Assistant Directors and Heads of Service are responsible for:

• Ensuring that all staff are aware of the policy and its requirements;
• Ensuring that relevant staff undertake training, as appropriate; and
• Providing assurance to Directors that decisions in their area of responsibility have been made in line with this policy.

3.5 Equality Unit staff are responsible for:

• providing EA officers with the opportunity to attend focused training;
• providing support, advice, and guidance to lead policy officers in applying the policy;
• monitoring the effectiveness of the policy through feedback; and
• managing the translation of documents into Ulster-Scots

3.6 All staff are responsible for:
 

• Ensuring they are familiar with the contents of the policy; and 
• Applying the policy to their work.

4.1. Staff Training and Awareness

Staff training on Ulster-Scots is available to staff as part of the annual training programme from the Equality and Diversity Unit. All staff are eligible to undertake the training which is non-mandatory.

The training covers:

• the legal framework for Ulster-Scots (including Sec 75);
• an overview of Ulster-Scots Culture and Heritage;
• Common myths about Ulster-Scots;
• the Ulster-Scots language; structure, key phrases, and pronunciations;
• Ulster-Scots in the workplace.

The training will be classroom based (or virtual) and is approximately 2.5 hours. For further information on the training, please contact equality.unit@eani.org.uk 

From time to time, awareness will be raised of the Ulster-Scots language and Ulster-Scots history and culture, as it relates to education and EA Services, across EA’s communication channels and internally amongst staff.

4.2. Addresses

The Local Government (Miscellaneous Provisions) (Northern Ireland) Order 1995 provides that a District Council may place a version of a street name in another language, as well as English.

When a person has used a lawful street name in correspondence or on official forms when applying for services provided by EA, staff will use the Ulster-Scots form when processing forms or replying to correspondence.

Both Ulster-Scots and English versions of the address will be kept on record.

Where a third party is involved, for example, Jobs and Benefits Office, to verify a service user’s status, both the Ulster-Scots and English versions of the street address may be shown.

4.3. Correspondence

The Education Authority will accept written correspondence in Ulster-Scots. An acknowledgement will be issued in Ulster-Scots within 2 working days.

The EA standard for responding to correspondence in English is within 10 working days unless more time is required due to the complexity of the response.

Taking into account the need to have the information translated, a substantive response will be issued in Ulster-Scots within 15 working days, unless more time is needed, in which case, the service user will be informed, in Ulster-Scots that this is the case.

4.4. Telephone calls and voicemails

If a customer begins a conversation in Ulster-Scots or is using Ulster-Scots vocabulary on the telephone, and the staff member speaks Ulster-Scots, or can understand the conversation and can converse with the customer, they will do so. 

If the staff member does not speak Ulster-Scots or does not sufficiently understand the conversation, the service user will be offered the option of continuing the conversation in English. If, however, the service user would prefer to conduct the call in Ulster-Scots, they will be offered the following options:

1. They will be asked if they would like to be transferred to a voicemail where they can leave a message. An officer will aim to contact the service user within three working days of the message being left. The service user should be informed, that whilst we will endeavour to return the call and conduct the business in Ulster-Scots, it may need to be conducted in English.
    
2. If the service user would prefer, they can write to the Education Authority. Their correspondence will be acknowledged in and replied to in Ulster-Scots. The Education Authority aims to respond to all correspondence within 2 working days and provide a detailed response within ten working days. This time may be extended to 15 working days, whilst the correspondence is translated.

4.5. Face to face meetings

If a service user begins to speak in Ulster-Scots and the EA employee does not speak Ulster-Scots, or sufficiently understand the conversation, the EA employee will explain they do not speak Ulster-Scots and the service user will be offered the following options:

• To continue to conversation in English;
• To write into the Authority in Ulster-Scots; or
• To arrange an appointment.

Should the service prefer to conduct their business in Ulster-Scots and opts to arrange an appointment, generally* an interpreter should be arranged. This can be arranged through the Equality Unit (equality.unit@eani.org.uk)

*A general exemption to providing an interpreter may be during recruitment exercises, where it may be necessary to test the communication skills of the applicant in English.

4.6. Translations

In line with the letter and spirit of the European Charter for Regional and Minority Languages, the Education Authority will translate key documents into Ulster-Scots.

It is acknowledged that the availability of Ulster-Scots translators is limited and this can therefore impact on the time taken to provide translations. Depending on the complexity of the materials, it can generally take up to 2 weeks to translate documents into Ulster-Scots. For simpler documents, such as for example, a response to correspondence, this can take up to 5 working days.

However, EA officers are required to effectively plan the delivery of their work in line with the recognised timeframes for providing upfront translations and will therefore endeavour to have translations available, upfront, without request, where these are deemed appropriate.

EA will provide translations on the following basis:

• Correspondence received in Ulster-Scots will be acknowledged in Ulster-Scots (using a standard acknowledgment) and replied to in Ulster-Scots. This may take up to 15 working days to provide a full response.
• EA documents, for example, consultation documents, that are directly related to Ulster-Scots Services or have a significant impact on the Ulster-Scots community, will be translated up front into Ulster-Scots, before publication.
• Key pieces of information relating to the corporate functions of the Education Authority will be translated into Ulster-Scots and placed on the EA website, alongside the English language. For example, how to contact the Education Authority or how to leave a compliment or make a complaint.
• Requests for Ulster-Scots translations of English language documents or resources will be considered in line with the above criteria.

The EA will work closely with the Ulster-Scots Agency and the Department for Communities Translation Hub to ensure the standards required for translations are maintained.

Translations are managed centrally by the Equality Unit. To request a translation, Officers should email equality.unit@eani.org.uk 

5.1    Dissemination

This Interim Policy is for all EA Corporate Services staff.

Assistant Directors and Heads of Service are responsible for ensuring that the Interim Policy is disseminated and understood within their service areas.

Dissemination can take place through the following means (list is not exhaustive):

• inclusion in staff briefings;
• raising the issue at staff meetings;
• EA corporate communication; and
• EA intranet and internet sites

5.2    Exceptions     

This policy refers to EAs Corporate Services and does not cover Ulster-Scots provision in the curriculum or in schools.

This Interim Policy will be monitored and kept under review by the Equality Unit. Should any part of this Interim Policy prove difficult to implement, feedback should be sent to the Equality Unit at equality.unit@eani.org.uk

The effectiveness of the staff awareness and training programme will also be monitored in an effort to continually improve outcomes.

This policy was consulted on as part of a target engagement and consultation exercise with affected stakeholders.

In line with the Authority’s duties under Section 75 of the Northern Ireland Act 1998 a screening exercise has been carried out.  A copy of the screening template is available on the EA website: www.eani.org.uk

In line with the Authority’s duties under the Data Protection Act, 2018, all personal and sensitive information processed in line with this policy will be administered in line

with the Authorities duties under the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). EA is obliged to comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and the General Data Protection Regulation when processing personal information. We have published detailed Privacy Notices on our website www.eani.org.uk/privacy which provide further information on how EA processes personal information as well as details on how to contact us if you have any questions.