'Mistake made' over use of school football pitch, says EA

The Education Authority (EA) made a mistake by claiming that a Londonderry school football pitch had not been used since 2019, according to the EA's chief executive Richard Pengelly.

Mr Pengelly faced questions from MLAs on Stormont's education committee about a decision to replace the pitch at Lisneal College.

"There's been a lot of commentary on this by a lot of people, I think most people along the way have got something wrong about this," he said.

"Uniquely we have held our hand up and said we got something wrong. Don't let that undermine everything else we're saying."

The Belfast Telegraph reported the funding for the pitch along with details of a meeting the school held with Education Minister Paul Givan and colleagues of his from the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP).

It also reported that the school had not made an application for the money.

Givan later denied having "any influence" on the decision to award £710,000 for the pitch upgrade.

Mr Pengelly told MLAs on Wednesday that as controlled schools, like Lisneal, were actually owned and managed by the EA there was "no need for an application" for the work.

"It wasn't anything that was missing or erroneous about the process, the lack of an application form," he said.

"An application would therefore have been us applying to ourselves."

He also gave other details about the process to replace the pitch.

Mr Pengelly said that the Lisneal pitch had been assessed as a "major health and safety risk" in 2019.

He admitted, though, that the EA had made a mistake by originally claiming that the pitch "hadn't been in use" since then.

Mr Pengelly said that EA statement had been wrong and released without all "checks" taking place.

Questioning Mr Pengelly, the Sinn Féin vice-chair of the committee, Pat Sheehan, said that replacing the pitch was not an "inescapable health and safety pressure."

"To me inescapable means there was no alternative but in this case there were a number of alternatives," he said.

"Whatever about health and safety, it wasn't an inescapable pressure."

Richard Pengelly responded that the school relied on the pitch as its main play and recreation space for pupils.

"The point is if it was being used, it wasn't an inescapable health and safety pressure, do you not accept that?" Sheehan responded.

Mr Pengelly replied, "I don't."

He said that if a school needed a replacement roof, for instance, the EA did not close the school but it was still an "inescapable pressure."

"I don't accept that point," Sheehan replied.

"There was educational funding used to bring the pitch to a standard that wasn't required," he said.

"So that money could have been used elsewhere for some more pressing or urgent need."

"But it wasn't, it was decided that it would go in to bring this pitch up to a certain standard."

"The pitch is required by the school, the pitch is part of the school estate," Mr Pengelly replied.

Alliance MLA Michelle Guy later asked what the specific health and safety risks were with the pitch if it continued to be used?

An EA official, Roger Sayers, said that a number of injuries had occurred on the pitch including a "serious leg break".

He said that the EA's grounds maintenance service had identified a number of issues including rips and tears.

He said that "low level maintenance" had been carried out but the pitch had not improved and remained "a health and safety concern" even though it remained in use.

DUP MLA Peter Martin said that "in my view there has been a political and media narrative around this particular story".

"My view is what has happened over the last three weeks with Lisneal...is not scrutiny, it is an agenda," he said.

Lisneal's principal Michael Allen recently decided to take up a new position with the Department of Education (DE).

He accepted the post of education adviser for the Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh.

Mr Allen previously told BBC NI's The Nolan Show he had considered quitting after it emerged the school was allocated funding to upgrade its football pitch.

Mr Pengelly was seconded to his post as interim chief executive of the EA for up to three years on 15 April 2024.