March 21, 2022

Mr. Speaker, I am
pleased to provide the House with a report on the
state of the Island’s roads and the various trenching projects ongoing and projected for the upcoming year.
Mr. Speaker, you will recall that the Ministry
of Public Works entered into a partnership with
BELCO for the replacement of the high- voltage u nderground cable network throughout the Island. This
critical work involves trenching, the laying of new c ables and conduit in the main roads. This has no doubt
impacted the daily commute of many, and while we
work very hard to coordinate the various projects to
have the least impact on the public as possible, the sheer volume of work meant that commute times had
to be impacted for progress to be made.
1046 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly For this I want to thank the public for their o ngoing patience and their continued patience for the
work still yet to come.
Mr. Speaker, I also want to highlight that not
only is the aged BELCO infrastructure being replaced,
but Public Works is also taking advantage of the
trenching works to install new water mains and tel ecommunication conduit wherever feasible for future
use. To those who may not know, the most expensive
cost of placing utilities underground is no t the conduit
or pipe, but the trenching and road reinstatement that
comes afterwards.
Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to say that through
our partnership with BELCO , the government has
been able to add new underground assets for a frac-tion of the cost it would have been otherwise. These
are assets the government can recoup from later in the form of leasing to other utilities or to make use of
itself for additional services to the public.
Mr. Speaker, I now wish to highlight the current state of the BELCO project and what we should
expect for the coming year. The BELCO programme
is anticipated to be nearing substantial completion by
next year with some 10 projects progressing concurrently. These include trenching works along various
points of Middle Road in Southampton, Warwick and
Smiths, Frog Lane to Palmetto Road leading into Barkers Hill roundabout in Devonshire and North
Shore Road from Barkers Hill roundabout to Store Hill.
The long- awaited widening and trenching on
Middle Road in Warwick from the former T. N. Tatem
Middle School to St. Anthony’s Church is well underway. Negotiations are ongoing with one final land-owner that we anticipate will conclude shortly so that
the entire stretch of road can be improved.
Mr. Speaker, for the role Public Works plays,
our highways
teams will be performing the majority of
the temporary reinstatement works along the trenc hing routes. This temporary reinstatement is the paving
that many have complained about on Harrington
Sound Road. I can assure you that this is temporary
and is to allow for the settlement of the trenches beneath. The final reinstatement will come about a year
later when that settlement is complete. With our c urrent schedule, we will be paving Harrington Sound Road as the first fully reinstated road next fiscal year
starting in April with the rest to be completed in phases as the trench works go through their settling period.
Mr. Speaker, BELCO is not the only entity i nvolved in large scale trenching works at this time.
Many in the East End will be well aware ––need I say
“painfully aware” —of the work being carried out by the
Bermuda Land Development Company (BLDC) with
the upgrading of the water and wastewater i nfrastructure in St. George ’s and St. David’s. As previously
mentioned in numerous press releases, this work is
part of the Water Master Plan and will see the revital isation of critical water and wastewater infrastructure
to support BLDC, the T own of St. G eorge’s and the new St. Regis hotel along with the eastern community
as a whole.
Mr. Speaker, again the role of P ublic Works is
to provide temporary reinstatement and coordination
of the five trenching projects taking place, with the full
reinstatement to come some time later. The areas
include trenching works taking place from Mullet Bay
Road to Echo Lane in St. George’s and various spots
on St. David’s Road in St. David’s, including Coopers
Landing Road and Southside Road.
Mr. Speaker, with all this said I wish to pr epare the public for what they should expect for the year to come. They should expect another year of traffic lights and trenching, then another year or two of
paving, but after that the majority of the work will be
completed and the value gain ed will be substantial.
Mr. Speaker, it was always the goal of the
project to do all this work at once, to inconvenience
the public once and to hopefully not have to disturb
these newly paved roads for the next 10 to 20 years.
We also recogni sed that this would create significant
economic activity in the country at a time when there
was a slowdown—thus also creating new jobs with
virtually every trenching company in Bermuda getting
some work.
Mr. Speaker, while I can empathi se with the
motoring public that the long queues and waits have
been challenging at times, I want to stress that it is vital for this work to take place and that we are doing
all we can to minimi se the impact. To this end I wish
to thank the Acting Principal Highways Engineer, Mrs.
Tina B eer-Searle and her team, who have been i nstrumental in coordinating both the BELCO and BLDC
works to ensure the safety of the public and the smooth flow of traffic across the Island while the work
takes place.
And as I mention safety, I again ask for the
public’s patience especially when waiting at traffic
lights as we have seen several accidents caused by
people running the red light. Please take note of the
updates on the paving works that we will endeavour to
provide more frequently this year, so you can plan
ahead, make alternate routes or just leave a littler earlier than usual.
I again wish to thank our partners at BELCO
and our colleagues at BLDC for the tremendous work
they are doing to restore the infrastructure of the I sland while also providing mu ch needed jobs in the
construction industry.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

Yes, good morning, Mr.
Speaker.
Mr. Speaker, it with profound sadness that I
offer condolences to my family of Mr. Leonard
Postlethwaite, Jr. , who lived Devonshire. Certainly ,
Mr. Speaker, his father, his mother, his wife, Erlene.
Oh my gosh, Mr. Speaker, it is very sad for us at this
particular time for such a young man to have succumbed to illness and to have pass ed away. He was a
well-liked young person, M r. Speaker. And let me say
this: Anybody who is 10 years younger than me is
very young, Mr. Speaker. But he will be sadly missed.
His St. George’s family and his friends up and down
this country mourn in the passing of my dear friend
and cousin, Leonard Postlethwaite, Jr.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, MP
Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time?
Any other Member?
Before we move on then, I would just like to
add one comment this morning in [regard to] the pas sing of Mr. Keith Nev ille Bean who was funeralised in
Somerset on Friday. And for those who saw the size of the funeral that took place at the Warren Simmons
Field, you would have thought it was a dignitary of
some sort , [looking] at the size of the crowd that
turned up. But i t spoke to how people felt about Keith
in his community.
Keith was one who gave much of himself
through many different walks in the community. Ev eryone who had something to say about Keith since he
has passed has always remembered how he would go
out of his way to help somebody else. And the size of
the crowd that turned out for his funeral spoke to that.
So I would like to offer my condolences to his
wife, Karen, their children, his mother, his sister, his brother and the extended family. And indeed, he will
not only be missed by his family, but the Sandys
community , and Bermuda in general , as he had touched people throughout this Island. And I just wanted that to be noted that we lost a true son of the
soil in the Sandys community. Thank you.
We will no w move on to Matters of Privilege.

MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE

Members, this now leads us to the O rders of the Day. Again, for the listening audience, we
are in the resumption of the Committee of Supply for the further consider ation of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for the year 2022/23 with the Budget
Debate.
Today is the last day that is set aside for the
annual Budget Debate. As always, there are eight
hours set aside for this debate. The first Ministry up for debate this morning will be the Ministry of Educ ation which will have five hours. And after the Ministry
of Education is completed we will have the nonMinist ries for three hours.
As always, once we go into Committee the
Speaker is not able to be in the Chamber. The pr oceedings will be in the hands of the Deputy Speaker
who is the Chair over the Panel of Chairs and his able
members on that Panel.
I think the first session this morning will be in
the hands of MP Foggo who will hold the Chair for the
first s ession this morning.
Before we go and turn the House over to MP
Foggo, I would like to call on the Premier or Deputy Premier to move us [into Committee].

Hon. Walter H. Roban: Yes.

Good morning to the listening aud ience. Good morning to Honourable Members.
Members , we are now in Committee of Supply
for further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue
and Expenditure for the year 2022/23. The Heads for
debate are 16, 17, 18, and 41.
I call on the Minister in charge to now pr oceed. Minister , you have the floor.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I move
that the following Heads: Head 16—Ministry of Educ ation Headquarters; Head 17—Department of Educ ation; Head 18— Libraries and Archives; and Head
41— Bermuda College, now be taken under c onsideration.

Proceed, Minister.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, today I
am pleased to present the budget of the Ministry of
Education, which comprises the Ministry of Education Headquarters —Head 16; the Department of Educ ation—Head 17; the Department of Libraries and A r-chives —Head 18; and the Bermuda College—Head
41.
Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 budget for the
Ministry of Education is $135,350,000 and is found on
page B -127 of the Estimates of Revenue and E xpenditure for the year 2022/23. This represents an
increase of $7,240,000 compared to the 2021/22 ori ginal budget. The current account 2022/23 estimated revenue for the Ministry of Education is $264,000.
The Capital Expenditure estimates for acquis itions and development decreased from $2,881,000 to $2,270,000 [in 2022/23] . The number of full -time
equivalents for the Ministry stands at 1,064 emplo yees.
Madam Chairman, countries around the world
are waking up to the scale of change that their econ-omies, soci eties and people face. The global COVID -
19 pandemic has further highlighted the technological,
societal and environmental shifts that are having a
lasting impact on how we live and work, and how we
learn and re- learn in the face of change.
Madam Chairman, in response to these global
shifts, the Ministry and Department of Education have been collaboratively designing an education system
which will enable each and every young Bermudian a
foundational education to lead personally, lead pr ofessionally , compete locally, and contribute globally.
Madam Chairman, Education Reform is our
priority. Therefore, during the 2022/23 budget year,
monies have been set aside to advance education
reform even further.

HEAD 16 —MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
HEADQUARTERS
Hon. Diallo V . S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, today, I
commence the Budget Debate by detailing the expenditure for the Ministry of Education Headquarters –
Head 16. The mission of the Ministry Headquarters,
which is found on page B-128, is To provide strategic
leadership and policy direction for education and lifelong learning. The objectives of the Ministry Hea dquarters are outlined accordingly on the same page.
Madam Chairman, change is required to
achieve purpose, to achieve a mission, and to achieve
destiny. Change will always involve a degree of di sruption, discomfort and at times disagreement. As the
Ministry of Education steadily advances Education
Reform, the implementation of new policies will be a bit disruptive and there will be some disagreement but
collectively we must hold steadfast and know that in
the end our public school education system will be
transformed to ensure a wholesome, accessible and
equitable education for all children.
Madam Chairman the Ministry’s 2021/22
budget funded several reform initiativ es that have already started and are moving us closer to a trans-formed public education system. These include the
following :


Bermuda House of Assembly 1. passing of legislation to phase out middle
schools, introduce signature senior schools
and establish signature learning programmes ;
2. heightened activities by t he Learning First
Programme to redesign the practices of teaching and learning and formulate a new
curriculum;
3. consultation on the introduction of parish pr imary schools which supported a decision to
introduce parish primary s chools; and,
4. consultation with stakeholders to formulate a
framework for the development of an Educ ation Authority.
Madam Chairman, during the 2022/23 fiscal
year, the Ministry of Education will continue to focus
on the work needed to deliver our first t wo signature
senior schools at the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge Academy, which are due to open in September
2022. The preparatory work has included the formation and induction of school transformation teams
at each of the senior schools. These transf ormation
teams comprise school staff, public school educators,
industry leaders and professional and community
partners. The Berkeley Institute will deliver signature
programme s in Finance and Insurance along with
Health and Social Care. CedarBridge Academ y will
deliver signature programme s in Trades for Building
Construction and Science, Technology, Engineering,
and Math , otherwise known as STEM.
Madam Chairman, during the past fiscal per iod, the Learning First team have been exceptionally busy ensuring i mproved methods for teaching and
learning aligned with 21
st century best practices. The
work which has been both phenomenal and exciting,
has included prototyping sessions with stakeholders ;
executing system conditions ; work for successful i mplementation of the signature learning programmes ;
designing a framework for students entering the se nior schools to choose their signature programme; de-veloping a framework so that primary and middle school students can also be exposed to explore and
experience the sig natures; and, at the senior level
mapping curricula for tracks within signature learning
programmes.
During the first five months of the fiscal year
2022/23 all hands will be on deck to transition the sen-ior schools’ S1 curriculum to signature learning pr ogrammes. The further work to be carried out includes
finalis ing the accredited curriculum and learning experiences for students; developing the signature learning
programme schedules; formali sing partnerships with
industry; and, carrying out professional learning and credentialing for our educators.
Madam Chairman, last year July, when announcing my decision that parish primary schools will
be introduced, I reiterated that the work will start after the 2022/23 school year. The Ministry needed to first
secure a project and programme management firm
and a supporting team for the development of a str a-tegic programme and project development plan. The
work commenced with the issuing of an RFP in A ugust last year. The work is now in train where a conceptual roadmap will be developed to map out the
extent of work that will be needed to renovate and refurbish schools in line with the vision for a 21
st century education for children. This will be anchored by
developing estimates of capital costs, financing and procurement options for funding the capital work. The
foundation will also be laid for establishing resources
and governance for an associated project management office.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry of Education
has committed to its stakeholders that with the intr oduction of parish primary schools and discontinuing the use of some primary school buildings, the history
and legacy upon which our schools were founded and built will not be forgotten. A promise was made to establish a History and Legacy Committee to engage
with the community and to document, commemorate and preserve Bermuda's educational and school hist ory and legacies. This promise began to unfold in N ovember last year when a short -term working group
was appointed to develop the terms of reference t hat
the History and Legacy Committee will use once it is
formally established and constituted.
Madam Chairman, the History and Legacy
Working Group will lay the foundational work of a Hi story and Legacy Committee that will allow the Committee to hit the r oad running when established. The
terms of reference will be detailed and include such aspects as types of professional and community roles
and skill sets necessary for the History and Legacy
Committee; potential work streams and supporting organi sational structures and processes for the Co mmittee project; and a provisional project plan outline
with milestones. This work is proving to be highly i nformative and exciting as the richness of the history of
our schools is unveiled.
Madam Chairman, Education Ref orm also i ncludes the ongoing work to establish an Education
Authority. As shared before, the purpose of an Educ ation Authority is to oversee public education and lead
all aspects of performance and accountability in public
education. During the 2022/23 fi scal year, the Task
Force will continue to progress defining the structure, responsibilities and governance of an Education A uthority.
Madam Chairman, during the past year, the
impact of COVID -19 restrictions curtailed the Mini stry’s ability to host perso n-to-person meetings and
activities with parents, guardians and students. The Ministry held its annual Father’s Day Essay Compet ition in June 2021 which gave students the opportunity to celebrate their fathers. This competition was created to inspire children to recogni se the significant role
fathers have in their lives. P5 and P6 students were
invited to submit essays in their own handwriting about their father or a father figure. The student’s es1050 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly says were judged and prizes were awarded to the
overall P5 and P6 winners. The Ministry of Education
in partnership with the Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity,
Inc., sponsored the Ministry of Education's fourth annual Father of the Year Essay competition which hon-oured eight fathers. There were eight student winners,
each of whom received Chromebooks.
Madam Chairman, the Father s Speak series
was paused in 2021 due to the pandemic. It is hoped that this series will recommence this year as the
COVID -19 restrictions begin to lift. The Father s Speak
series is a unique platfor m for fathers and male guar dians in our public schools to share their perspectives
and be heard. The Ministry also takes into consider ation any recommendations made to further collaborate
with parents. The series are critical opportunities to
recogni se and acknowledge the value of fatherhood in
education, including the social -emotional well -being of
young people, and their achievement, attainment and
outcomes. The round- table discussion engages f athers to share experiences and learn from each other
about ho w to strengthen the relationships with their
children, by becoming more involved as parents.
Madam Chairman, the United Nations declared [October ] 5, 2021 as World Teachers ’ Day with
the theme: “Teachers: At the Heart of Recovery .” In
recognition of Bermuda’s teachers in both public and private schools, the Ministry arranged a virtual Proclamation by the Town Crier in recognition of World
Teachers’ Day, acknowledging and thanking teachers
for showing unwavering dedication, flexibility, and undying love for our students.
Madam Chairman, to broaden our outreach to
the community, we embarked upon a communication plan that allows the Ministry to keep our stakeholders
and the general public informed virtually by utilising
social media platforms. The Ministry of Education currently hosts
a) Education Matters —a radio programme that
airs every two weeks on Mondays on Magic 102.7 FM;
b) Education Connection—a weekly information
and discussion talk show that airs on the Government’s Facebook and CITV YouTube
channel;
c) Weekly Radio Morning discussions on three
radio stations : Power 95; Hott 107.5; and Vibe
103.
These programmes are utili sed to feed a
broad range of information to the public at large about
the many activities, services and programmes relating
to Education Reform, the Bermuda Teacher Induction
Programme, the Adult and Youth Libraries, the Child
Development Programme , the Dame Marjorie Bean
Hope Academy, and many other initiatives.
Currently, as part of the Ministry’s communication plan, a social media campaign is currently underway to highlight the successes of recipients who
were granted scholarships and awards, and who be n-efitted from funding given by the Ministry over past
years.
Madam Chairman, our communication strat egy will be expanded in the months ahead with a video
series called “Evolve Education” which will be deve loped. Each video will provide a glimpse of the work
being done to progress Education Reform and i mprove teaching and learning. This video series will be
designed to encourage greater com munity and pare ntal involvement.
Madam Chairman, on page B-128, you will
see that the Ministry of Education Headquarters has
been allocated a budget of $5,341,000 for the 2022/23
fiscal year. Within programme 1601, business unit
26000- general administrati on, $3,318,000 will support
the operational and administrative functions of the
Ministry.
This budgeted amount increased by
$1,084,000 which covers the cost of [the] Innovation
Unit, the management change consultants for Educ ation Reform who are undertaking the Learning First Programme; and the conceptual roadmap that will be
developed for the school building infrastructure
changes that also form part of Education Reform.
Madam Chairman, under programme 1601,
business unit 26080, $ 608,000 has been budgeted for
external grants and the Bermuda College Promise
merit award programme. This amount reflects an i ncrease of $107,000 which are monies set aside for the
work of the History and Legacy Committee.
In awarding grants to external agencies, the
Ministry wil l continue to support programmes and services which directly help students improve in their ac-ademic, social and behavioural skills to achieve success.
Madam Chairman, of the $608,000, roughly
$250,000 has been set aside to fund the College
Promise programme. These funds are awarded to
public school graduates with a GPA of 3.0 or higher with a $5,000 scholarship to attend Bermuda College.
This programme was introduced for the very first time
in September 2019. At that time 26 students took advantage and enrolled at the c ollege, with tuition and
the cost of books fully funded. In September 2020 and 2021, enrolment more than doubled as 67 and 60 public school students , respectively, registered and
enjoyed the benefits of the College Promise merit
programme.
Madam Chairman, $1,415,000 has been set
aside in business unit 26090 for the administration of
the Ministry’s annual Scholarships and Awards pr ogramme. The Ministry will continue to support st udents in their pursuit of tertiary level education. The reducti on of $10,000 is minimal and reflects a decrease in administration costs with a cutback in the
purchase of promotional items. The amount of monies
set aside for issuing scholarships and awards remains the same.


Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, last year, the Ministry r eceived a total of 517 student application submissions.
This reflected an increase of 19 applications compared to the 498 received last year. The Ministry of
Education funded seven B ermuda Government scholarships comprising new and existing scholarships; a
total of seven N on-Traditional student awards ; five
Teacher Education Scholarships ; and 55 Further Education Awards. The Minister’s Awards comprised: six
Minister’s Achievement Scholarships ; two Applied
Science Scholarships ; eight Exceptional Student
Awards ; four Technical and Vocational Awards ; and
six Bermuda College Book Awards.
The number of Further Education Awards to
students, based solely on their financial need, i ncreased from 54 to 5 5. The Minister’s Achievement
Scholarships for a graduating student from CedarBridge Academy and a graduating student from t he
Berkeley Institute pursuing overseas post -secondary
study increased to six [scholarships ]. The Minist ry’s
Technical and Vocational Award for graduating public
school students, or recent public school alumni attending Bermuda College, and who are pursuing local
or overseas post -secondary studies was decreased to
four awards. Lastly, the Minister’s Exceptional Student
Award for graduating students or school -leavers with
disabilities pursuing local or overseas post -secondary
study increased to eight awards.
Madam Chairman, on page B -129, the Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates are
shown for the Ministry of Education Headquarters.
Line one, Salaries , stands at $620,000 and shows a
marginal increase of $30,000 when compared with
2021/22. The increase reflects the end of the 10 per
cent austerity measures in July 2021 between the
Government and the u nions.
The Travel expenditure line item of $24,000
increased by $11,000 while e xpenditure for Comm unications decreased by $4,000. The increase in travel
expenditure reflects monies budgeted for the annual
UK Education World Forum which was not attended
last year. Monies budgeted on advertising and prom otion increased by $6,000 to heighten the advertising of
the Ministry’s Scholarships and Awards programme.
Madam Chairman, $2,606,000 has been
budgeted for professional services. This reflects a significant increase of $989,000. These additional
monies have been allocated to continue the consu ltancy work for Education Reform inclusive of the work
that will be undertaken by the Learning First Programme.
Madam Chairman, I outlined earlier that during the 2022/23 fiscal year the transformative work will continue the transition of our senior schools to i mplementing signature learning programmes, developing
the signature learning programme schedules; and, carrying out professional learning and credentialing for
teachers to support the changes in their schools. A dditionally, the consultancy work will extend to suppor t-ing the implementation of the S1 signature learning
programmes and the development of an S2 curric ulum for the two signature learning programmes, as
well as the design and development of school transformation teams for parish primary schools tha t may
be introduced in September 2023.
Madam Chairman, the amount budgeted for
rentals, the next line item of expenditure, decreased by $10,000. Line item , Materials and Supplies , increased by $12,000 , while the budget line items for
other expenses which cover food and drink, increased by $7,000. These funds will cover all associated Education Reform costs for group working sessions. The
last line item of the subjective analysis , Grants and
Contributions , was allocated a budget of $1,988,000
for the budget year 2022/23. This allocation increased
by $140,000. The full breakdown of the $1,988,000
budgeted for grants and contributions, can be found
on page C-18 of the Budget Book .
Madam Chairman, on page B-[129] the number of full -time equivalents or employees in the Mini stry of Education Headquarters remained the same as
last year at six.
Madam Chairman, finally on page B-130 the
performance measures for the Ministry Headquarters are outlined. The targeted [ outcomes ] for last year
were either achieved or are in the process of being
completed by the end of March this year.
Madam Chairman, the Ministry Team co mprises the Permanent Secretary, our Senior Policy
Analyst, the Ministry Comptroller, the Scholarships
and Awards Programme Manager, a Relief Policy A nalyst, the Administrative Assistant/Accounts Officer,
and the Executive Assistant to the Minister and Per-manent Secretary. Each team member has contributed to the success of the Ministry’s work programme.
They have demonstrated a strong commitment to executi ng and completing initiatives with excellence,
even when faced with challenges and the myriad of
external distractions. I extend my sincere thanks to
the team for their due diligence.
Thank you, Madam Chairman, this concludes
my presentation of the budget for the Ministry of Education Headquarters , Head 16.
Madam Chairman, I now present the budget
for Head 17, the Department of Education.

HEAD 17 —DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I now
present the budget for Head 17, the D epartment of
Education.
Madam Chairman, throughout the fiscal year
2021/22, the Department of Education o fficers, from
across all sections within the d epartment, have been
focusing their efforts on the work of education reform.
Officers have made this wor k a priority as we prepare
for the opening of the first signature learning pr ogrammes at the senior level in September 2022.
1052 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, the work that has been
undertaken is very significant work because it will also
bring about changes in the way tha t educators lead in
schools and at the Department of Education; in the way that teachers teach; and most importantly, in the way that students learn. Madam Chairman, the work
of education reform that is being undertaken will enable us to achieve our overar ching objectives for Bermuda’s students as outlined on page B -131 which are
to:
1. increase academic rigour and s tudent engagement ;
2. ensure career, college and w orkforce readiness ;
3. enhance the q uality of teacher practice and
system leadership;
4. improve infras tructure and i nstructional resources ; and
5. ensure system success.
Madam Chairman, we have co- developed a
new vision for learning for Bermuda’s children which
includes guiding principles and expected outcomes
and we are very confident that the efforts that are b eing undertaken for education reform will achieve these
outcomes and also improve student outcomes, i ncrease student success and enable all students to
“lead personally and professionally, contribute locally, and compete globally,” as outlined in our vision on
page B -131.
Madam Chairman, page B -134 shows that a
total of $112,328,000 has been allocated to the D epartment of Education for the fiscal year 2022/23. This is $6,736,000 more than the 2021/22 fiscal year. The main contributing factors for the increase are the di scontinuation of the previously agreed 10 per cent austerity measure reduction in salaries as agreed by the
various unions; and the salary uplifts agreed to when
all job descriptions for posts under the Bermuda Union
of Teachers were re- graded back in [ 2019. ]
Madam Chairman, I will move on to highlight
the expenditures of each business unit that falls under
Head 17, commencing on page B -132.

Programme 1701—Central Administration
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I will
begin with the analysis of Central Administration. This
includes the costs for salaries of the administrative
personnel and Department of Education senior lea ders who set priorities and who support, monitor and audit the work that takes place at the Department o f
Education and in our schools.
Madam Chairman, monies budgeted for the
upcoming year for b usiness unit 27000, General A dministration, will cover the costs for inventory purchases of educational and office supplies for the school year. There are an additi onal [$103,000] budgeted in expenditure for the fiscal year 2022/23, to cov-er COVID -19 related expenses. Madam Chairman, the Department of Educ ation continues to make safety and health in our public schools a high priority given the COVID -19 pandemic.
Madam Chairman, the Stores t eam ensured the timely
procurement of safety and health, personal hygiene and cleaning supplies throughout the 2021/22 fiscal
year. Madam Chairman, this team was timely in filling
school orders and with delivering supplies of hand
saniti ser; disinfectant and saniti sing wipes; disposable
masks, gloves and other PPE to our schools on an ongoing basis. Madam Chairman, when the At -Home
Lateral Flow Testing Programme was implemented in
our schools in January 2022, the Stores t eam pac kaged bundles of tests provided by our donors and ensured the timely delivery of the tests to each of our
schools and Madam Chairman, this team continues to
ensure the timely preparation and delivery of lateral
flow tests to our schools.
Madam Chairman, with school safety and
health remaining a priority during the 2022/23 fiscal
year, the Stores team will continue to focus on the
efficient management of inventory and delivering sup-plies ordered to schools within five days or less.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27001, holds
the budget for the Office of the Commissioner and primarily funds the salaries of the Commissioner of
Education and two direct reports, the Director of Ac ademics and the Director of Educational Standards and Accountability. The Commissioner of Education and
[the] direct reports are responsible for strategic planning; overseeing, monitoring, auditing the work of
staff; and holding staff at the d epartment and in
schools accountable for carrying out their duties and
responsibilities. They are al so responsible for collec ting data and reporting on the performance metrics for the department and our schools.
Madam Chairman, in 2020 the department i ntroduced The Scoop parent newsletter. During the
2021/22 fiscal year the d epartment added a newsle tter dedicated to school staff. The department now operates three newsletters from the Commissioner’s O ffice which play a key role in keeping stakeholders updated. They are BPS Matters for school staff, The Link
Express for Department of Education s taff, and T he
Scoop for Bermuda public school families.
Madam Chairman, the number of unique co ntacts receiving the d epartment’s newsletters has i ncreased from 4,385 on February 21, 2021, to 6,549 a
year later. A total of 164 mailings, representing
340,800 emails being delivered, have been sent during that period. Recipients of all of our newsletters now have the option of providing feedback on the clarity, timeliness, helpfulness, and relevance of the i nformation provided.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Educ ation has also established a Key Communicators Network consisting of 16 stakeholders representing var ious roles across the system and externally. The pur-pose of the network is to support the dissemination of


Bermuda House of Assembly accurate information, to alert the Office of the Co mmissioner of Education about concerns held by stak eholders, and to be a sounding board and a standing
focus group for the Commissioner’s communications
resource, on occasion. The members of the network were selected following a call for recommendations
from Bermuda public school families and staff.
Madam Chairman, in development is a social
media strategy that prioriti ses the use of social media
to celebrate our students, schools, staff, and pr ogramme s. A social media inventory survey was undertaken to pro vide data for this strategy, and it clearly
indicated that most, if not all, of our schools need
more support to reap the benefits of social media.
Administrative and management infrastructure to ad-dress capacity constraints is in the process of being
developed. A social media directory, which lists all
official Bermuda public schools social media channels, and a process for establishing new social media
channels have been developed. Madam Chairman,
this initiative went live in March 2022.
Madam Chairman, as we prepare for the i mplementation of our reform plans, the Commissioner
of Education has embarked on co- creating with school
staff the process whereby schools will be staffed under a restructured system. The aim is to ensure that
the process is fair and transparent.
An initial survey conducted between October
2021 and January 2022, received 400 responses and generated rich insights into the concerns of the school
staff. The survey also asked staff to discuss their understanding of “f air” and “transparent ” and their pr eferred mode of communication as we embark on codeveloping the process. Madam Chairman, the survey
period was extended multiple times in order to ensure
every single member of the schools’ staff —including
administrators, leaders, administrative assistants, cu stodians and teachers —had an opportunity to respond.
The survey results are being analy sed and a report is
to be issued in due course. Madam Chairman, we aim
to have a draft process outlined by the end of this
school year.
Madam Chairman , extensive focus group r esearch is also being undertaken to determine formal
policies and guidelines for online video conferencing.
The development of this policy will benefit both staff and students and help strengthen remote learning
guidelines.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Educ ation implemented a new accountability system during
the 2021/22 fiscal year. The accountability system
includes all sections and all officers, and each section has determined meaningful and measurable outputs,
outcomes and performance measures [aligned] with
their work, the strategies of Plan 2022 and Gover nment priorities. All sections are required to submit d ata on their outputs, outcomes and performance
measures monthly, termly or annually. Madam Chairman, as I shared l ast year in the
2020/21 budget, the work of education reform is about
the execution of some of the long- term strategies in
Plan 2022. In particular, the Learning First Pr ogramme is execut ed on the establishment of Signature Schools.
Madam Chairman, senior and other technical
officers at the Department of Education have been
working in concert with Learning First, school leaders, teachers and members of our community to prepare
for the opening of the first signature learning pr ogrammes for incoming S1 s tudents at our two senior
schools in September 2022.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Educ ation Officers were members of the research team for
the Future World of Work r eport which was [published ]
in April 2021. The purpose of the report was to help us
to understand the future world of work in Bermuda
and to better inform how education should respond to
this age of uncertainty. This research also served to
inform design teams working on national priorities for
education and to inform decisions around the types of
Signature schools Bermuda’s public school system
would need to offer.
Madam Chairman, in April 2021 stakeholders
and the community at large were invited to give feedback on proposed signatures. After a rigorous engagement process, by the end of May 2 021, the 10
signatures were agreed, along with the signature pr ogrammes for the two senior schools, with entrepr eneurship to be integrated into the revised curriculum as it was deemed that entrepreneurship is a priority for all business sectors. Entrepreneurial skills are e ssential for young people so that they are no longer passive recipients of the job market. They can be job
creators and help shape the economy of the future.
Madam Chairman, between late 2020 and
June 2021, design teams and working groups co mprising of teachers, principals, parents, young people,
Department of Education officers and the wider community developed the features for the nine national
and core priorities that would serve as foundations for
the work of School Transformation Tea ms during the
2021/22 academic year. Madam Chairman, these features offer tangible ways in which signature learning programmes might be brought to life, and these features also act as consistent guide rails for the design
of the new approaches to curriculum, pedagogy, assessment, space, relationships and professional
learning that will be required for signature [ learning ]
programmes to thrive.
Madam Chairman, the nine national and core
priorities for which the features were developed are:
1. A curriculum fra mework that describes the
knowledge and skills young people require to be active citizens as well as detailing how
learning can be structured to connect clas sroom learning to the real world. This idea
1054 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly brings together the concepts of connecting
classroom learning to the real world.
2. Flexible learning environments (environments,
space and settings) establishing the ingred ients for a flexible learning environment that
address the dominance of “ the desk. ”
3. Recognition of learning that describes the credentialin g (international, industry and m icro) and graduation requirements for newly
configured curricula.
4. A deep learning pedagogical framework with
research- based practices that promote 21st
century learning and competencies. The
framework would help to secure c onsistency
of quality instruction across Bermuda's clas srooms.
5. A project -based learning framework that i ncludes “Discovery Week ,” a co- design pr ocess by which teachers, students and community partners work together to outline an
authentic, relevant, real -world project for the
class; and new forms of authentic individua lised assessments.
6. A new advisor role to work with students to
develop a learner profile and personalised
progression pathway. Together these are ta ilored to a young person's strengths, goal s and
interests, as well as BPSS graduate outcomes.
7. A teaching task force of 10 to 20 teachers
skilled in specific pedagogies or curriculum
content who can be deployed to any school as
coaches to support scaling a new practice.
8. School as a PLC (Professional Learning
Community) where teacher practice and pr ofessional development is characteri sed by e ndemic collaboration in evidence- based pr ofessional learning models. Teachers collaborate across schools as well as within schools.
9. Everything starts with a c onversation world
cafe- style community event that engages
people in conversations about the change needed for all learners on the I sland to thrive.
Madam Chairman, in June 2021 school transformation teams were on boarded to support each of the senior scho ols, to commence the work that would:
• Develop roles, relationships, resources, skills
and behaviour changes required to engage in new ways of working.
• Engage stakeholder groups in current practi ces and research in order for them to consider new forms of evidence and generate new id eas.
• Co-design promising new solutions and practices; incorporating ideas and technologies
from a wide range of sources and then prot otyping and testing them within their school and
community. • Support the implementation of new practices
within their school and their adoption and adoption of practice across the wider educ ation community.
Madam Chairman, these school transformation teams continue with their work to date.
Madam Chairman, in November 2021, six
System Conditions W orking Groups were formed:
1) Graduation and credentialing
2) Curriculum
3) Teaching and learning
4) Partnerships with industry and the community
5) Partners as education
6) Professional learning
Madam Chairman, these six groups consist of
leaders from schools and the Department of Educ ation and have been working with representatives from
business and the community to change features of the
Bermuda public school system. Madam Chairman,
these changes are necessary to ensure that the new signature learning programmes at CedarBridge Aca demy and the Berkeley Institute will run smoothly. The
working groups have been looking at changes to the curriculum and to graduation and credentialing r equirements to reflect the new opportunities for st udents to gain industry experience and qualifications. They have been planning changes to teaching and learning to reflect the expansion in work and comm unity-based learning experiences outside of school,
and industry and community experts becoming educ ators inside schools, as well as project and inquiry -
based learning that comes with signature learning
programmes. And Madam Chairman, they have also,
most importantly, been considering the support our
teachers will need as they adapt to new ways of wor king since s ignature learning programmes will also cr eate new learning opportunities for teachers.
Madam Chairman, senior leaders at the D epartment of Education have been involved in a review
of the work throughout this journey and specifically,
they were involved in a stage- gate review of the w ork
being carried out in November 2021 and again in February 2022, over a period of 10 days.
Madam Chairman, technical officers at the
department dedicated countless hours of work in support of the Parish Primary School consultation pr ocess, another main focus of education reform.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27030, H uman Resources, has been allocated a total of
$500,000 to fund the salaries of technical and admi nistrative staff, expenses to advertise and recruit staff,
and monies for annual long service awards to teac hers.
Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 funding for
business unit 27031, Staff Development increased
minimally from the previous year’s budget to $692,000. These funds will be used to fund training
and professional learning; school improvement pl ans;
training which is necessary to enhance the skills and


Bermuda House of Assembly competencies of our teachers, educational staff,
school leaders and Department of Education staff;
training that will be required during the preparation
phase [prior] to the opening of the first si gnature lear ning programmes at our two senior schools; and trai ning that will need to continue once the signature lear ning programmes are implemented in September 2022.
Madam Chairman, the Department of Educ ation recogni ses the critical importance of ongoing pr ofessional development and the positive impact that it
can have on improving student outcomes. Madam
Chairman, the Department of Education provided extensive and ongoing professional learning [ sessions ]
for staff within our schools throughout the course of
the 2020/21 school year to expand staff knowledge
and skills. With the overall coordination of professional
development sessions led by the Acting Staff Development Officer, with the assistance of the Standards -
Based Grading Steering Committee, a my riad of pr ofessional learning sessions for BPSS teachers and specialist staff were held in September and October 2021, and January and February 2022.
Madam Chairman, technical officers also pr ovided professional learning throughout the year , and
on design ated days and afternoons, school leaders
also coordinated and often led professional develop-ment sessions at their respective school sites in su pport of school improvement efforts.
Madam Chairman, last summer teachers were
afforded the opportunity to part icipate in an intern ational Schoology Blended Learning Leadership Academy. Madam Chairman, course content for this academy is aligned to the International Society for Tec hnology in Education [ ISTE] Standards for Educators,
and the Academy received [the IST E] Proficiency Seal
of Alignment. The Findings Report of the ISTE Seal of
Alignment Review states: "The Schoology Blended
Learning Professional Development . . . is grounded in
research- based strategies and collaboration to enable
educators to master and apply new learning in their
own educational context."
Madam Chairman, blended l earning will cr eate this type of learning experience for our students
which call for teachers to use innovative [learning]
experiences that will ignite student engagement and motivate learning.
Madam Chairman, teachers must deliver highquality instructional practices that are rigorous and
foster knowledge comprehension, critical and creative
thinking, application and communication.
Madam Chairman, project -based learning is
one of those high- quality instructional practices and it
is also the focus of one of our nine national and core
priorities. Madam Chairman, in July 2021 a group of
teachers and technical officers commenced a Project -
Based Learning Curriculum Developer Certific ation
programme offered by the Project -Based Learning
Network. Madam Chairman, I am pleased to report that
the Bermuda p ublic school system now has one o fficer and several teachers who are c ertified curriculum
developers for project -based learning , and the matri culation ceremony for these educators was held in
January 2022. Madam Chairman, two of these educ ators have also put Bermuda on the international map
with their work being highlighted by the Project -Based
Learning Network.
Madam Chairman, in Septem ber 2021 Lear ning First provided BPSS staff with an update on pr ogress with our own transformation journey and they
also shared with participants the opportunities for get-ting more deeply involved in the work of education
transformation during the 2021/22 academic year.
Madam Chairman, in October 2021 Learning
First held a professional learning session for BPSS staff to grow interest in and an appetite for exper imenting with project -based Learning, laying the foundation to spread this powerful and evidence- based
learning model and scale its benefits for student lear ning and achievement across the I sland.
Madam Chairman, in February 2022, Learning
First held a professional learning session for all BPSS
staff to explore the benefits for students and the impl ications for the practice of the Bermuda public school
system’s new position on pedagogy, the m odel for
deep learning. BPSS s taff were introduced to the
model and their input was sought on how we can best
spread and diffuse powerful and evidence- based high
impact teaching strategies in order to improve student
learning and achievement across the I sland.
Madam Chairman, during the 2021/22 fiscal
year, Learning First also published six newsletters to keep BPSS staff and stakeholders abreast of progress
with education reform and to invite them to engage in
the activities of this transformative journey.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27090, Educational Standards and Accountability (ESA) provides
funding for the salaries of three assistant directors,
four school attendance officers and one school registration and a ttendance coordinator. Madam Chairman,
the assistant directors of ESA have oversight of our
18 primary schools, 4 middle schools, and 2 [ senior ]
schools. The a ssistant directors supervise school
principals to ensure effective leadership and quality teaching, services and programmes in our schools.
The work carried out by the assistant directors is e ssential for the growth and development of school
leaders and overall school improvement.
Madam Chairman, 2021/22 marks the first
time that the new principal evaluation tool was admi nistered in its entirety. The Mc REL Principal Evaluation
Tool was used to conduct principal evaluations. Al though COVID -19 continued to impact the day -to-day
operations within the ESA section, a ssistant directors
successfully used the McR EL Principal Tool, with f idelity, to perform mid- year and end- of-year [principal ]
evaluations. Madam Chairman, the success in co m1056 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly pleting the full cycle of the McR EL Principal Evalu ation tool reflect s the Government's commitment to i mproving accountability in education.
Madam Chairman, during the 2021/22 school
year, professional development for principals was
centred on the School Improvement Plan. Utili sing the
McREL principles of balanced leadership, assistant
directors engaged principals in professional learning
that was focused on School Improvement Plans.
Madam Chairman, key priorities for ESA during the 2022/23 school year are to maintain the devel-opment of Standards -Based Grading at the schoo l
level; to focus on student achievement through the
School Improvement Plans; and to ensure that all st udents’ needs are met. The assistant directors will also
coach principals in aligning the McR EL tool with the
School Improvement Plan and they will also provide
principals with the support required to develop them to
the [accomplished ] and distinguished levels of performance.
Madam Chairman, the Teacher Performance
Evaluation Programme (TPE P) was conducted during
the 2020/21 school year. The TPEP evaluat ion cycle
consists of a portion of the teaching staff on c linical
supervision, a portion on a dministrative monitoring
and a portion on professional growth plans with all
teachers rotating through a three- year cycle of supervision. There were some adaptations that needed to
be made given the impact of the COVID -19 and one
included adding online observations for remote lear ning. Principal submission of supervision reports was reviewed by the assistant directors with feedback and
coaching provided to assist in the ongoing develo pment of teachers.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda [Teacher ] Induction Programme [BTIP] consists of three mentor
teachers who are supervised by one [assistant ] director. The programme consisted of 32 inductees, 17
first-time teachers and 15 second- year teachers for
the 2021/22 school year. The mentor team has been trained in the Jim Knight Instructional Coaching model
and utili se this to coach new teachers as they [ work ]
through the BTIP requirements and full induction into
the Bermuda public school system.
Madam Chairman, for the 2022/ 23 school
year the priorities for mentors include solidifying i nductees’ practices in Standards -Based Grading and
digital technologies to ensure varied mediums for
online learning and instructional strategies.
Madam Chairman, the System Conditions and
Learning First teams are heavily supported by the assistant directors and the mentor teachers. These officers committed to at least one day from their regular
duties to participate in the planning for the transformation of the Bermuda p ublic school system. While
this work impacts the day -to-day responsibilities of
each member, Madam Chairman, they are committed
to the [ charge ] as it is significantly important to pr ogress schooling for the children of Bermuda. Madam Chairman, the 2020/21 budget for
business unit 27095, Attendance, was transferred into
business unit 27090 to fund the salaries of four s chool
attendance officers and a school registration and attendance coordinator. It is the responsibility of this
team to ensure that children of compulsory school age are in school on a daily basis. The school registration
and attendance coordinator also oversees the annual
school registration process for the enrolment of chi ldren in all public schools. The c oordinator also carries
out a review of the registration process each year and
ensures improvements in the process for the following
year, through consultation with school and development leaders. The registration and attendance coordinator is also on the front line of communication and
assistance, regularly fielding parent questions and
comments regarding the registration process, as well as attendance.
Madam Chairman, the a ttendance officers
submit monthly reports on student attendance and
teacher attendance submis sions, for each school. The
monthly report displays month- over-month analysis
and identifies trends over the period. The coordinator
conducts audits of school attendance data to determine each school's progress and compliance. Madam
Chairman, monthly repor ting has increased school
accountability and timeliness and accuracy of atten dance submissions.
Madam Chairman, the a ttendance officers
continue to adhere to the Department of Health’s COVID -19 protocols and for a second year they have
not been physically visible in schools; however, attendance officers are accessible via Zoom, email and
telephone calls to address attendance queries and
concerns. The aim of ensuring that attendance data
are accurate, reliable and timely remains at the for efront of their daily responsibilities.
Madam Chairman, the attendance team continues to closely monitor attendance. During COVID -
19 there was a need for more in- depth communication
and collaboration with the schools. Oftentimes it was
identified that parents required more information r egarding current COVID -19 [protocols ]. The aforementioned had an impact on attendance and required
more attention to ensure that students would return to school as soon as possible and attendance records
were accurately updated.
Madam Chairman, the attendance team monitors chronic absences by reviewing the frequency of “unexcused” absences in PowerSchool. The occurrence of unexcused absences prompts the officers to
closely examine the students’ records. Once this r eview is carried out, and if it is confirmed that the st udent does not have a valid reason for the unexcused
absence, contact is made with the school and the
parent. The o fficer then works collaboratively with
counsellors and the school’s leadership to put
measures in place to reduce the chronic absences.


Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, the attendance and r egistration coordinator is in the second year of using the
online registration for both new students and returning
students. Principals are more familiar this year with
the process that went live i n February 2021 and this
process continues to be more beneficial as we move away from a “traditional” paper -based process. This
year a pilot timeline of three weeks (14 January to 4
February 2022) versus the norm of three days was
introduced for the Bright Start, preschool and primary
school registration period. This introduction permitted
parents ample time to submit the online application with accurate supporting documentation. Continuous
improvements to a 21
st century approach also saw for
the second year virtual open houses being conducted
which permitted parents to attend via the Z oom platform. Parents who were not able to attend virtually
can view the open houses on the Bermuda Public
Schools YouTube page.
Madam Chairman, the attendance team continue s to fulfil their role to ensure that students attend
school on a daily basis. As we transition and learn to
live with COVID -19, maintaining attendance should
become more manageable and we expect to see a
reduced use in the new attendance codes introduced
during these unprecedented times. An at tendance
monitor application is currently being reviewed that
would assist with streamlining attendance processes
with features that would benefit both administrators and parents alike using the parent portal account.
Madam Chairman, the funds allocated to this
unit have increased minimally over 2021/22, totalling [$643,000] .
Madam Chairman, substitute teachers ensure
the continuity of teaching, learning, services and pr ogrammes when teachers or other school staff are sick
or on leave. The funds allocated for business unit
27160, Substitutes , has increased by $1,693,000. Of
this total, roughly $1.3 million will be used for the sal ary uplift due to teachers in September 2022 resulting
from the regrading of their job des criptions in 2019.
The remaining $393,000 is to cover the costs for additional substitutes.
Madam Chairman, the overall budget for the
Central Administration programme is $6,333,000 for the 2022/23 fiscal year, which is $2,122,000 higher
than the previous year’s budget due primarily to the
increase in funding for s ubstitutes.

Programme 1702— Student Services
(page B -132)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, programme 1702, Student Services , facilitates the prov ision of 13 essential programmes that provide services
to meet the diverse needs of our students who have been identified as having exceptionalities.
Business unit 27061, Behaviour Management,
funds behaviour therapists for preschool and primary schools as well as one e ducation officer for b ehavioural management. In addition, the funding covers
our two Alternative Education Programmes which f acilitate suitable alternative education environments and services for students who require speciali sed behavioural interventions. The 2022/23 budget for t his
business unit will increase by $93,000.
Madam Chairman, educational therapists, educational therapist assistants and other members of
the Multi -Tier System of Support (MTSS) school
teams continue to provide Tier 1, Tier 2 and Tier 3 support for studen ts in our schools who have beha vioural challenges. These supports range from clas sroom monitoring and consultation to caseload admi ssion, as well as:
• daily tracking of schedules;
• developing individual crisis management
plans;
• implementing behaviour al intervention strat egies
• developing functional behaviour plans (FBAs)
and behaviour intervention plans (BIPs).
Madam Chairman, throughout the 2021/22
school year, educational therapists and e ducational
therapist assistants have been incorporating the functional behaviour assessments (FBAs) and b ehaviour
intervention plans (BIPs) specialist training to produce
both FBAs and BIPs across all levels. These are cr eated for all Tier 3 students, for whom we have seen an increased number.
Madam Chairman, partnershi ps are still in
place with the Department of Child and Family Ser-vices (DCFS), Child and Adolescent Services (CAS),
Probation Services and the Department of Health.
Child and Adolescent Services have hired a full -time
educational therapist who will collaborate with the
school therapists on a monthly basis.
Madam Chairman, Kickboard has been p iloted in eight of our schools. This online application
system will facilitate instantaneous data collection and
analysis of student behaviours. Kickboard is a total end-to-end behaviour solution that helps districts and
schools drive climate and culture initiatives. It enables educators to input and analy se the full range of st udent behaviours and interactions in real time. This tool
also provides real -time assessment and progress
monitoring of the social emotional curriculum and the
effectiveness of school climate initiatives like PBIS
(Positive Behaviour Intervention Supports), RTI (R esponse to Intervention) and MTSS (Multi -Tiered Sy stems of Support), providing much needed behavioural insights into students’ everyday experiences at school
and the quality of their interactions with others.
Madam Chairman, in February 2022, school
staff were introduced to the Kick board online applic ation with the understanding that all s chools will implement Kick board as of September 2022. Madam
Chairman, we will also look to pilot Branching Minds,
an online application that will be used to enhance ac1058 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ademic and behavioural interventions for students at
Tier 2 and Tier 3.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27063 i ncludes our school psychologists who support admini strators and address student needs in the areas of academics, behaviour and mental health. Further, the
school psychologists provide comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations, consultations, short -term
counselling, and interventions and preventive services across the entire system.
Madam Chairman, school psychologists are
engaged in, and are a valuable resource for schools in relation to the MTSS process. Through the MTSS
process, a multidisciplinary team discusses the needs
of the student and suggests interventions and r esources to address their concerns. The school ps ychologists, as participants in the MTSS, collaborate to
ensure that students have support which includes r esources from within the public school system and the
wider community. Recommendations are made
through consultation within the MTSS framework and recommendations are also made utili sing the data
derived from psychoeducational assessments con-ducted by the school ps ychologists.
Madam Chairman, while schools were impl ementing remote learning, despite limitations due to COVID -19, school psychologists were able to successfully complete 91 per cent of referred and approved cases. Madam Chairman, the 9 per cent deficit
is due to the lack of a school psychologist, however
student services is the process of filling that void with
a relief school psychologist for this academic year. Madam Chairman, to complete the assessments, the school psychologists utili sed the previously developed
protocols for the provision of services under the current health conditions. These services were provided
according to Department of Health’s best practice
guidelines during the pandemic. School p sychology
practices were also aligned with the mandates a dvised by psychological associations and regulatory
bodies in regard to COVID -19 protocols.
Madam Chairman, I reported last year that the
school psychologists would be acquiring the Q -
Interactive software and that each would be provided with an iPad to conduct assessments is a more eff icient manner. Madam Chairman, I can confirm that
the devices and software were provided and the
school psychologists and students being assessed
were able to use the iPads as part of the assessment
process. Madam Chairman , the 2022/23 budget for
school psychologists increased by $163,000.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27064, the
Adaptive Physical Education (APE) programme is a
developmentally appropriate physical education pr ogramme, delivered by specialist teachers who provide
services to students with diverse physical needs by
providing the adaptive support that they need to be
included in the regular physical education programme. Madam Chairman, due to the COVID -19 pa ndemic, adaptive physical education teachers wer e not
able to facilitate the proficiencies in assessment for perceptual, motor, balance, locomotor and object control for the 2020/21 school year. Additionally, the pr oficiencies in assessment for low level organi sed sports
and games were not feasible due to the inability for
students to have direct contact with one another and
to maintain social distancing as mandated by the
school COVID -19 phases. Also, during the period of
remote learning, the Zoom platform minimi sed the
ability to accurately assess students’ skill sets specific
to their IEP goals and objectives. Remote learning
was not conducive to performing motor assessments
which often require equipment, adequate space and
close observation of students’ movement. As a result,
the adaptive physical education teachers focused on
maintaining each student's previously learned skills.
Madam Chairman, this specialist team of
teachers also organi ses the Department of Educ ation’s annual Adaptive Physical Education National Track and Field Invitational. This I nvitational usually
includes over 70 students from P1 to S4 who have
special physical needs and who receive adaptive
physical education services, as well as individuals
who have transitioned out of the Bermuda p ublic
school system and who are presently at the K. Margaret Carter Centre and other facilities.
The Invitational could not be held last year
due to COVID -19 regulations. Instead, a walk -athon/bike- a-thon [facilitated ] by adaptive physical education teachers was organi sed for all the students and
staff from Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy. This
event was held at the North Field Track at the Natio nal Stadium on the 27
th May [2021] and the students
used differently adapted tricycles, tandem bicycles
and wheelchairs to perform laps around the track.
Feedback from the event was very positive
and consideration [ is being given] to making this an
annual event. Madam Chairman, this team is still loo king forward to reintroducing the Invitational with st udents from P1 to S4 and to other entities servicing the
special needs community. [There is] $278,000 bud geted for this business unit. And Madam Chairman, I
must add that the walk-a-thon/bike- a-thon will go forth
again this year and will take place next week Friday.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27065 is the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing programme, which employs
teachers who provide students with academic instruction. They collaborate with classroom teachers to ensure that teaching and learning is effective and that
student needs are met during instruction in the regular classroom. The $314,000 budgeted for this business
unit are for salaries, disability -specific resources and
materials, hearing aids and equipment, professional
development and consultant audiology services.
Madam Chairman, line item 27066, the Visio n
business unit , has been allocated a budget of
$106,000. Students with visual impairments have


Bermuda House of Assembly unique educational needs. In order to meet their
unique needs, [ students ] must have speciali sed services, books, and materials in appropriate media (i ncluding braille). Students also need speciali sed
equipment and technology to ensure equal access to
the core and speciali sed curricula, and to enable them
to effectively function alongside their peers in school,
and ultimately in society. Due to COVID -19 r estrictio ns, the curriculum was adapted as much as
possible for accessible online learning when needed.
Students received instructions on using various Zoom features to demonstrate their understanding and ev idence of learning.
Madam Chairman, the business unit 27071 ,
office support serves as the s ecretariat for the s tudent
services section and funds the salaries of the a ssistant director of student services, two administrative
assistants, and six learning support teachers who pr ovide services to students with speci al needs. Madam
Chairman, $805,000 is budgeted for this business
unit.
Madam Chairman, the counselling programme, business unit 27072, is a c omprehensive,
developmental school counselling programme
(CDSCP), [based] on an international model, with four
components: Classroom Guidance/Core Curriculum;
Individual Planning; Responsive Services; and Sy stem Support. More specifically, school -based counse lling programmes provide early intervention; crisis i ntervention and prevention; treatment and promotion of
positive social and emotional development.
This business unit funds the salary of an education officer for counselling; 25 counsellors who service the p re and primary schools; 10 at the m iddle
school level; and 1 alternative school counsellor.
Madam Chairman, $3,110,000 was budgeted for this
business unit with an increase in budgeted funds of
$216,000.
Madam Chairman, school counsellors are r equired to facilitate individual academic and career
planning meetings for students in P5, M2, S1 and S4.
Despite the pandemic, last year 89 per cent of the
students at Primary 5 participated in individual ac ademic planning meetings, with 14 out of 18 primary
schools having 100 per cent of their [students ] partic ipating in the individual academic planning meetings;
and one primary school having 96 per cent of their
students participating in individual academic planning
meetings. Three primary schools were below 96 per
cent for the number of students participating in ind ividual academic planning meetings.
Madam Chairman, 8 8 per cent of the individ ual academic planning meetings were held for our M2
students and 93 per cent and 94 per cent for S1 and
S4 students, respectively.
Madam Chairman, the priority work for the
education officer, counselling for 2022/ 23 is as follows: • Continue to monitor completion of P5, [ M2],
S1 and S4 individual planning meetings by
school counsellors through auditing completed individual planning meeting forms and r eviewing student response sheets.
• Provide administrative and clinical supervision
to 26 school counsellors.
• Provide relevant professional learning sessions to 26 school counsellors.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27074, learning support, funds two e ducation officers for s pecial
education and l earning support, in addition to 37
learning support teachers who provide special educ ation services at our preschool, primary and middle schools; Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy; and for
our trauma- responsive programmes at our primary
and middle and senior s uccess academies. This funding also includes assessment materials needed to
ensure the appropriate diagnosis of students with
special education needs.
This business unit increased by $478,000,
which is the result of the ending of the 10 per cent
salary austerity measures from last year; and additional funding for much needed l earning support services.
Madam Chairman, the learning support offi cers have the following priorities for 2022/23:
• Move [towards ] having paraprofessionals and
any teacher who is not certified in applied behaviour analysis ( ABA) or r egistered behavioural technician become certified (RBT).
• Train middle and senior school staff in SCERTS and SEEKS (Special Education for
Exceptional Kids) for continuity of services.
• Increase the number of students who move
into general education classrooms.
• Train and certify staff in non- invasive behaviour control, once a policy has been created to
guide practice.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27076 was
allocated $118,000, and reflects the funding for the
salary of the education officer for Ea rly Childhood E ducation, and an operational budget for the Early
Childhood section.
Madam Chairman, the budget for business
unit 27079 increased by $944,000 with a budget all ocation of $7,588,000. This business unit provides for
the delivery of paraprofes sional and educational therapist assistant services for our [students ] who have a
diverse range of learning needs. The majority of the increase reflects the austerity measures rollback and
the return to normal in the salaries of the paraprofes-sionals and educational therapist assistants while the remainder provides $193,000 for three additional
paraprofessionals.
The paraprofessionals and educational ther apist assistants provide instructional support to teac hers, ensure protection and safety, and provide s upport
for transition and life skills for students with special
1060 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly needs. This includes providing adequate sup port for
students with physical exceptionalities, inclu ding those
who are deaf or hard of hearing, and those who are
visually impaired.
Madam Chairm an, the business unit 27083,
autism spectrum disorder , or ASD , funds salaries for
teachers and those paraprofessionals who serve st udents with autism within the ASD programmes at
three primary schools, one middle school and one
senior school. The 2022/23 f unding of [ $685,000] also
covers operational costs for equipment repairs, maintenance and supplies and professional development.
Madam Chairman, the ASD learning support
primary school teachers and staff continue to receive
training in SCERTS (Social Comm unications, Em otional Regulation, and Transactional Support). This involves specific tasks that were outlined by the facil itators of the training that teachers and paras had to
implement within their classes. These staff were then
videotaped completing the tasks and they received
feedback on their performance in subsequent professional development sessions.
Madam Chairman, the business unit 27084,
alternative education, funds the operation of the alternative education programme and two s uccess academies. F unds are also used for Department of Educ ation [DOE] partner program mes which offer additional
alternative programme choices for our students.
Madam Chairman, Success Academy Heron
Bay (SAHB), the primary level alternative support pr ogramme currently supp orts five students. Three more
referrals are pending, which will take the programme
to its maximum capacity of eight students. The prim ary goal of the programme is to enable students to acquire replacement behaviours which will allow for
them to be reintegrated into a mainstream school environment.
Madam Chairman, Success Academy Roberts
Avenue (SARA), the alternative support programme
for middle and senior school students, services 10
students ( six senior school students and four middle
school students) w ith the goal of assisting them in acquiring replacement behaviours which will lead to rei ntegration back to their mainstream middle school env ironment, to transition to senior school or a GED preparation programme or at the Penn Foster programme.
Madam Chairman , in the 2020/21 brief I stated that a respite approach to addressing students’ needs would be introduced into the Success Academy
Robert’s Avenue programme. Madam Chairman, this
has been implemented during the 2021/22 school
year. Madam Chairman, th e student services section
provides an extensive range of educational services
for our students with exceptionalities. The total budget
allocation for p rogramme 1702 for the 2022/23 fiscal
year is $21,160,000.
Programme 1703—Finance and Corporate
(page B-132)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, finance
and corporate services, business unit 27002, funds
staff in the finance administration section with a budget of $682,000. This team includes a d epartment
comptroller, financial services manager, a p ayments
supervisor, a s alaries supervisor, a s alaries clerk,
three accounts clerks and a messenger. This section
is responsible for providing:
• financial advice to senior management ;
• cost-effective, responsive financial services ;
• procurement and contract ing services ; and
• corporate planning solutions to management,
employees and schools.
Under the direction of the d epartment’s comptroller, the team coordinates the payment of salaries
for approximately 1,000 educators and department
staff and pays all suppliers and vendors for goods and
services purchased as well as organi ses the collection
of receivables. This section also plays a key role in
finding ways to reduce non- instructional costs and
identify cost inefficiencies.
Madam Chairman, office accommodation ,
business unit 27003, has a budget of $953,000 that
funds the salary of the office receptionist, annual rent,
office maintenance, and electricity and communication
costs for the d epartment’s physical headquarters on
Church Street. There was a decline of $216,000 due
to the reallocation of four c ustodian posts to their r espective schools under business unit s 27530, [ 27490] ,
27350 and 27560.
Business unit 27040, educational stores , was
allocated a budget of $708,000 which supports sal aries for six staff, and other expenditures such as rent,
inventory freight costs, and gas/diesel. The Stores section provides centrali sed purchasing, inventory
management and distribution services to all public
schools, the Bermuda College, and other government
departments , such as the Department of Youth, Sport
and Recreation.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27041,
school transport , is allocated a budget of $438,000
and funds the salaries for two b us drivers and one bus
attendant who provide transportation for children who
attend the Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy and
for students in ASD programmes at different schools. Also included in these funds are the salaries of two
groundsmen who maintain school sports fields, and
one Labour, Transport and S afety Officer. This section
also funds the costs to maintain the department’s m otor fleet.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27042, building, grounds and equipment, is budgeted at
$1,473,000, an increase of $257,000. These monies
fund the salary of the f acilities manager and the remainder of the budget covers the cost of minor repairs and maintenance for facilities at all educational and


Bermuda House of Assembly administrative sites that fall under the Department of
Education. These include preschools, maintained pr imary and middle schools, DAME, the Child Devel opment programme and the Alternative Education pr ogrammes. However, the majority of the increase in
monies budgeted for this business unit $246,000 is
due to augmented cleaning services at our schools
due to COVID -19.
Madam Chairman, cleanliness inspections
continued to be a priority for the 2021/22 fiscal year
with the Labour, Transport and Safety Officer responsible for carrying out unannounced cleanliness inspections at each school twice per month; school leaders
conducting unannounced cleanliness inspections at
their respective schools once per month; and the f acilities manager, along with a Department of Health o fficer, conducting ongoing unannounced inspections to ensure a high level of cleaning is being maintained.
The inspections carried out by the f acilities manager
and Department of Health officer are ongoing, graded
and documented to ensure a healthier , safer school
environment. Madam Chairman, the f acilities manager
and Health O fficer also conducted inspections at
schools prior to schools opening in September 2021
and rigorous cleaning standards had to be met by all before the “green light” was given to open for students
in September.
Madam Chairman, it is also important to note
that during the 2021/22 school year the Department of Health commenc ed sending officers out to schools to
conduct unannounced compliance checks for the ex ecution of COVID -19 protocols.
Madam Chairman, last year I stated that
cleaners were assigned to all preschools and Success
Academy Roberts Avenue in response to meet th e
cleaning requirements set out by the Department of
Health. Madam Chairman , during 2021/22 the D epartment of Education continued with the services of
cleaners/saniti sers.
Madam Chairman, the f acilities section coordinated a number of enhancements and upgrades to
the infrastructure of schools. These included:
• Enhancements to Department of Education
schools ’ infrastructure. Removal of asbestos
vinyl flooring, upgraded with an environmen-tally friendly non- wax, non- skid flooring.
• Enhancements to Department of Education
school bell systems . Removal of analogue
systems, upgraded to digital systems with battery backup, programmed for school breaks
and automatic change over as it relates to
daylight savings.
• Enhancements to Department of Education
schools air conditioning systems . Installation
of ultraviolet kits to kill mould spores , viruses,
bacteria and fungi.
• Upgrades to [s chool ] bathrooms . Removal of
dated wall/floor tile and bathroom fixtures. Upgraded to non-skid tile, sensor led lighting
and exhaust ventilation system.
• Upgrades to playgrounds . Installation of three
American Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant playgrounds, ensuring equal access and be nefit for all students.
• Upgrades to fire alarm systems. Replacing
non-addressable systems with fully addres sable systems that allow us to monitor and address emergencies efficiently, with the ability
to identify the precise location of any and all alarms.
• Upgrades to s ecurity cameras . Installation of
led infrared camera systems that give us the ability to moni tor our schools 24/7, day and
night. All events can be stored in case of m alicious events allowing data to be retrieved by
law enforcement on request.
Madam Chairman, for the 2022/23 fiscal year
the facilities section will continue to address all health
and safety requests as a matter of priority by following
up with relevant parties and ensuring stakeholders are
updated throughout the process. This section will continue to carry out cleanliness inspections throughout
all public schools with the goal of ha ving schools co nsistently maintained at a high level of cleanliness
throughout the school year. This section will also ensure that custodial staff continue to train at Bermuda College, and they will support staff with enrolling in
courses that relate to us ing environmentally safe
cleaning products.
Madam Chairman, the final business unit,
27050, information technology is funded $2,591,000.
This business unit funds the salaries of an IT manag-er, a c omputer services officer, a management systems officer, and technical and assistant technical officers.
Madam Chairman, the IT s ection carried out a
number of enhancements during 2021/22. These i ncluded:
• Enhancements to DOE data centre infrastructure. Completion of major upgrades to the E nterpri se server, backup, and switching environments.
• Enhancements to the telephone system network system. Major enhancements and i mprovements to the telephone network were
completed, including operating system and
voicemail software upgrades. The pilot of
softphones was also com pleted by the D epartment of Education’s IT section.
• Firewall upgrades . Major enhancements and
improvements to Enterprise firewalls were
completed, including the operating system
and VPN software upgrades.
• Optimis ation and extension of existing Wi -Fi
networks at all BPSS p reschools, primary,
and middle schools.
1062 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Madam Chairman, the IT section also confi gured and distributed over 260 additional laptops to the
BPSS user community making for a total of 560 devices configured and distributed to staff during
2021/22 to date. Madam Chairman, the COVID -19
pandemic has also highlighted the requirement to
have a flexible and mobile workforce that is able to
adapt to changing world events. IT staff have issued
laptops to mobile staff who are now [ able] to “roam ”
from school to school and sign into the network via
Wi-Fi access applications and data. The foundation
and framework to add additional mobile IT services to
cater to a mobile workforce have all been put into
place.
Madam Chairman, during Term 1 the IT s ection distributed Chromebooks to P3, P4, P5 and P6
students for use of DOE Enterprise applications
Schoology , PowerSchool, DreamBox, Learning A –Z,
and Zoom. Madam Chairman, the IT s ection expect to
roll out Chromebooks to P1 and P2 student by the end
of this term. Once this is carried out, all primary school students will have access to a Chromebook. Madam
Chairman, this means a total distribution of 1,918 Chromebooks would have been provided for primary
school students to enhance their educational exper iences. We are very pleased about this.
Madam Chairman, the IT section also impl emented Enterprise- wide protocols and tracking around
IT security threats , SPAM, end-user protection, and
Internet access policies for all u ser communities.
Madam Chairman, in the upcoming fiscal
year, the IT s ection will be engaging with the desi gnated officer to determine how we can make Po werSchool and Schoology the Enterprise applications
for the BPSS.
Madam Chairman, in summary, the f inance
and corporate section provides key ser vices and support to our public schools and has been allocated
$6,844,000 for the 2022/23 fiscal year.

Programme 1704— Preschools
(page B -133)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I now
turn to page B -133 to line item 1704 which is the pr ogramme for our 10 preschools. The 2022/23 budget
for all p reschools is $4,752,000. Madam Chairman,
90 per cent of the preschool budget funds salaries ;
10 per cent of the budget is used for resources, trai ning and development and operational costs such as
electricit y, part -time cleaners, phones, office equi pment rental and drinking water .
Madam Chairman, preschools responded well
to in -school and remote learning through the online
platform Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG). This platform supports teacher planning, teaching and learning as well as authentic assessment with ease of continuity between both in- school and remote learning. The
at-home family -friendly Teaching Strategies Gold (TSG) platform coaches parents or caregivers to e ngage their children in stimulating experiences requi ring little to no resources, other than time and attention from the parents and caregivers.
Madam Chairman, the Bright Start programme preschool classes for three- year-olds moved
from Warwick preschool in 2021/ 22 and expanded to
locations further west, then in the central and eastern
parishes of the I sland. By expanding the Bright Start
programme we are meeting our goal of increasing
spaces for three- year-olds as well as providing ec onomic relief for high- quality early learning childhood
education and care.
Madam Chairman, the Bright Starters are our
youngest BPSS learners , and they have lived more
years in the time of the pandemic than any other time in their short lives. They are children of the technolo gical age. They learn through enqui ry, exploration, encouragement and are taught to explain and evaluate
through studies such as t he Clothing Study, Insect
Study, Tree Study and Buildings. This is a project -
based learning approach with some intentional teac hing and we have invested in iPads for these young
learners. They are guided and supported in develo pmentally appropriate engaged learning for short per iods of time in the school day. Our Bright Starters are
learning healthy tech habits such as how to use tec hnology for learning, exploring and discovering. These
are all vital skills for children of the 21
st century. These
are exciting times in education despite the challenges.
Madam Chairman, during the 2022/ 23 fiscal
year preschool, early education will support smooth transitions for chil dren. These transitions engage fam ilies through registration and enrolment support and
services. In addition, preschools provide orientation
for parents as well as incoming preschoolers , as well
as individual team meetings for children entering the Bright Start programme and p reschool for 4- year-olds.
Preschools also support transitions into primary school and special programmes.
Madam Chairman, preschools will increase
use and proficiency of online [ platforms ] to engage
parents and caregivers. These platf orms facilitate individualised learning at school and at home along with
documentation on development and learner progress. Preschools look forward to engaging preschoolers in deeper learning through a more developmentally appropriate and engaging learning environments that
support enquiry learning. Enquiry learning has been
challenged over the last two years by limits set
through COVID -19 health and safety protocols. These
protocols have meant the increased distance between
learners; reduced face to face c ommunication; limited
to no small group learning. Small group learning i nvolves shared touching and exploring of provocations
and manipulatives. These small groups would typically be gathered in the dramatic play, math, literacy and
science centres which o ver the last two years were
limited to one lone learner at a time. Making preschool


Bermuda House of Assembly learning developmentally appropriate will increase
social -emotional learning, communication and enquiry
learning, all foundational to later learning.
Madam Chairman, the M inistry of Education’s
Strategic Plan has identified seamless transitions for
children entering primary school. This goal was targeted at students entering primary school from the
Department of Education’s Early Childhood programmes including preschools an d the Child Development Programme. This goal has been extended to
all children entering primary schools. A key factor in transiting across the early years is “meeting children
where they are” in development and learning.
Madam Chairman, a 2021 /22 primary school
pilot of the Creative Curriculum for Kindergarten
[CCK] (P1) is underway at Francis Patton Primary,
Victor Scott Primary and Purvis Primary. Madam
Chairman, the Creative Curriculum Primary 1 pilot has
provided the opportunity to improve continuity across
the early years and to ensure Developmentally A ppropriate Practices (DAP) are adhered to for what can
be a huge transition for children. These practices
should be foundational to each child’s first year of
primary schooling.
The piloting of the Creative Curriculum for
[Kindergarten ] (P1) meets children where they are
upon entry into primary school. This in turn relieves the stress of children and parents wondering whether
their child is “ready” or not for primary school.
Madam Chairman, these experi ences are
taught through the project approach which involves
units of study that integrate content areas such as
Mathematics, Language Arts and Literacy, Social Sc ience, Science and the Arts. Social and emotional development remains a key area of development that
enables a child to manage their emotions and feelings; build positive relationships, and work cooper atively with others. Our CCK p ilot teachers and their
students are enjoying learning and making deeper
connections through this pilot programme. The continuum of learning extends up into the next level of
development so that learning is accounted for even if
it is beyond widely held expectations for Primary 1.
Parents have responded with positive feedback r egarding their child’s interest in school and excitement
for new learning. We are confident that by implement-ing the Creative Curriculum for Kindergarten (P1) our
students are receiving a strong foundation for future
learning.

Programme 1705— Primary Schools
(page B -133)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, pr ogramme 1705, primary schools , has a budget alloc ation of $28,179,000. The increase of $1.3 million is a
net increase after the impact of the a usterity
measures rollback across all primary schools. There
were decreases in some schools due to primary schools ha ving the following targets as their priorities
during 2021/22 and they are expected to continue with these priorities into the new fiscal year 2022/23.
These targets are:
• Improving math proficiency as measured by
the common summative assessment admini stered in June 2022 .
• Improving writing proficiency as measured by
the writing prompt assessment administered
in June 2022.
• Improving the number of students reading on
or above grade level as measured by Fountas
and Pinnell and the Gates -MacGinit ie.
• Improving the use of research- based instructional strategies used by teachers by June
2022 .
• Improving the focus of professional learning
communities within each school .
• Increasing and improving the focus of sitebased professional development .
• Continued implementation of standards -based
grading, with a focus on strengthening established practices .
• [Ensuring] all staff adhere to the COVID -19
safety and health protocols.

Programme 1706— Special Schools
Page B133

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, programme 1706, business unit 27120, Dame Marjorie
Bean Hope Academy [DAME] , provides dedicated
services to students who have severe to profound and
multiple challenges and therefore special needs. The main focus of the programme at DAME is to provide
students with enriching education and development
support, to increase student independence and to
help them achieve their ultimate potential.
The dedicated principal and staff at DAME are
able to achieve this programme outcome by impl ementing a comprehensive curriculum that is focused
on developing receptive and expressive communic ation skills; functional literacy and mathematics skills;
activities of daily living; social skills development; be-haviour interventions; pre- vocational and vocational
skills; community -based instruction (CBI) and art, recreation and leisure skills. In essence, the programme
at DAME, like at all other schools, focuses on the
whole child.
Madam Chairman, during the 2021/22 school
year, the principal supported the staff in their efforts to obtain an international Registered Behaviour Technician Certification in Behaviour Analysis. Madam
Chairman, I can report that the majority of the staff
obtained the international certification and were recognised at a celebration held in September 2021.
Madam Chairman, this business unit will be funded
with a budget of $617,000.

1064 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Programme 1707— Middle Schools
(page B -134)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, we now
turn to page B -134, programme 1707, our middle
schools.
Similar to the primary schools and in alignment with school improvement plan targeted areas,
middle schools are focusing efforts on improving math
and writing proficiency; increasing the number of st udents reading on grade level; improving the use of
research- based i nstructional strategies; improving the
focus of professional learning communities; continuing
with the implementation of standards -based grading;
and ensuring adherence to the safety and health pr otocols.
Madam Chairman, the total 2022/23 budget
allocation for our four m iddle schools is $14,735,000.

Programme 1708— Senior Schools
(page B -134)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, programme 1708 refers to our two s enior secondary
schools , the Berkeley Institute and CedarBridge
Academy. Each senior school is provided with an annual grant for the operational management of their respective school and school curriculum. The senior
schools educate students between the ages of 13 and
18 years of age, to prepare them for career, college
and workforce readines s. This is accomplished by
providing students with a variety of academic services
which are inclusive of comprehensive support, differ-entiated learning opportunities and high- quality lear ning experiences to ensure all students experience a
level of success .
For fiscal year 2021/22, students at the senior
school level benefitted from diverse local and intern ational curricula and programmes to prepare them for post-secondary education, training and careers. For
the fiscal year 2022/23 the funds will support school
redesign and system transformation with the impl ementation of the first two senior signature schools offering signature learning programmes in STEM,
Trades and Professions at CedarBridge Academy ,
and Financial and Insurance Services along with
Healt h and Social Care at the Berkeley Institute.
Madam Chairman, for the fiscal year 2022/23,
the CedarBridge Academy’s funding decreased by $34,000.

Programme 1709—Curriculum Assessment
(page B -134)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, programme 1709, curriculum assessment funds the
Cambridge International Curriculum, City & Guilds,
and related initiatives; salaries of subject -specific education officers for Curriculum & Assessment; and the Career Pathways programme. The d epartment pays
an annual fee to Cambridge International for the curriculum and for P6 and M3 students to sit the annual Check points and S2 students to sit the IGCSE exam inations, which are required to obtain the Bermuda
school diploma.
Madam Chairman, the d epartment is in its 10
th
year of implementing the Cambridge International E xaminations at P6, M3 and S2. The examinations are funded from business unit 27020, assessment and
evaluation, which has an allocated budget of
$360,000. The Cambridge IGCSE exams were not
administered during the 2020/21 school year due to
COVID -19 and like other students worldwide, students
received assessed grades.
Madam Chairman, during 2021/22, the department continued to give significant attention to
mathematics. Extensive efforts to increase student
comp etence and outcomes in m athematics continued
during 2021/22. For the p rimary school level, these
included, but were not limited to the following:
• fortnightly training on techniques and pedagogy for teachers;
• purchasing manipulatives, including Numicon
and Place Value Counter, to develop number
sense;
• curriculum development, including pacing
guidance, resources and assessment mater ials, including Standards -Based Grading assessment materials, along with guidance and personali sed resources for every lesson;
• termly assessments and analysis; and taking
action on assessment results and providing
specific training and support on how to address gaps in learning;
• providing guidance to math leaders and
coaching for teachers who have low perfor ming classes compared to national compar isons;
• monitoring on the consistency of [ instructional ]
approaches and the monitoring of student
work to ensure standards are increasing;
• summer school tutoring and lessons; and
• providing a s pecialist website for pupils (and
parents) to access support at any time inclu ding booklets, lessons and support materials.
Madam Chairman, training and support began
with middle schools in March 2021. This included:
• training on best practice and associated pedagogy , particularly representation of conceptual understanding and bar modelling;
• establishing a common pacing guide to guide
learning appropriately;
• incorporation of greater reasoning and pro blem-solving tasks;
• provision of lesson materials and student
questions on every topic from M1 t o M3;
• provision of assessment materials;


Bermuda House of Assembly • analysis of assessment results and guidance
on how to address gaps;
• summer school tutoring and lessons; and a
• specialist website for pupils (and parents) to
access support at any time including booklets,
lessons and support materials
Madam Chairman, support for senior schools,
which is in the infancy stage, involved developing a condensed curriculum to ensure students have the opportunity to make the maximum progress in the
available time and guidance for teachers together with
follow -up support.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27520, design, development and i mplementation funds salaries
for seven education officers who are responsible for ensuring the effective delivery and ongoing development of the Cambridge curriculum in the core and
non-core subjects and school examinations.
The funding for business unit 27524, college
and career pathways , increased 33 per cent. This unit
supports the Career Pathways Programme, the dual
enrolment programme and all other curric ular pr ogrammes. The increase in funding of $112,000 contributes to the salary of staff leading the dual enrolment programme for our senior school students.
The Curriculum and Assessment programme,
1709, has been allocated a budget of $2,352,000 for
the c ontinued delivery of these educational pr ogrammes and services.

Programme 1712— Early Childhood Education
(page B -134)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, the final
programme on page B -134 is 1712, e arly childhood
education. This programme comprises the Child D evelopment Programme and After School [ Care] programmes.
Business unit 27175, the Child Development
Programme (CDP) currently funds the salaries of the
dedicated CDP staff and programmes.
Madam Chairman, the CDP is an accredited
programme. The focus during 2021/22 has been to fill vacant posts to improve early intervention services to
the community for children from birth to five years of
age. After three years with an acting family coordinator, the post was filled in September 2021. Funding
enabled the newly hired f amily coordinator to meet
programme licensure requirements which ensured the continuation of the Parent Child Plus Programme.
This early intervention programme provides coaching
and mentoring of parents and caregivers to improve
the home learning environment, the parent –child rel ationship and the language, literacy, cognitive skills and
social -emotional development critical to school success.
Madam Chairman, two relief workers were also hired to fill vacancies in administration and f amily
counselling, and the early childhood specialist gained training to bring her up to date on the most recent version of the screening tool that is used for clients.
Madam Chairman, a number of facility i mprovements were made to repair the interior an d ext erior of the building occupied by CDP staff and to i ncrease safety and security as well as maintain the u pkeep on the facility. New playground equipment was installed to the delight of CDP clients as well as vis itors.
Madam Chairman, the final line i tem on page
B-134 is business unit 27700, after school care, which
funds the wages of part -time employees who provide
supervision and organi sed activities to children at pr eschools and one school for students with special
needs. The funds for the after sch ool programme are
utilised to offer after school care at four preschools
and for the students at DAME. In summary, the con-tinued delivery of services for programme 1712, for
the fiscal year 2022/23 has been allocated a total
budget of $1,558,000.

Subject ive Analysis of Current Account Estimates
(page B -135)

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I now
refer you to page B -135, the subjective analysis of
current account estimates for the Department of Education. This page provides an aggregate of the detailed line -item expenditures previously mentioned.
The variances of significance for the categories are as
follows:
• Salaries and wages increased by $3,897,000,
and $1,266,000, respectively; mainly due to
the roll back of the 10 per cent reduction austerity measures agreed by the u nions .
• Other personnel costs decreased by $30,000,
reflecting the reallocation of recruitment services now handled by the Department of E mployee and Organi sational Development .
• Training costs are negligibly $7,000 higher
while transport remained consistent with the
prior fiscal .
• Travel costs decreased by $55,000 reflecting anticipated reduction in travel .
• Communication costs [decreased] by $1,000
in part reflecting the completion of a number of projects linked to Information T echnology
Support .
• Professional services increased by $1,189,000 due to consultants for the c ommissioner’s office, school psychology and
paraprofessional as well as additional services with Bermuda College. Two consultants
will be hired to lend supervisor y management
and control of the s ubstitutes and p erformance management programmes .
• Rental costs remained consistent with the pr ior fiscal, while r epair and maintenance costs
1066 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly increased by $302,000 due to COVID -19related expenses .
• Energy costs remained consistent with the
prior fiscal year.
• Materials and s upplies expenditure is
$118,000 higher as a result of COVID -19 expenses .
• Grants and contributions decreased by
$28,000, and those funds have been allocated to support the school redesign and [ system ]
transformation work.
Madam Chairman, pages B -136 and B -137,
show there are 1,034 FTE [full- time equivalents]
posts, the same number of FTEs as the previous year. Madam Chairman, the department will continue to
monitor and review the number of FTEs ensuring both
efficiency and effectiveness in staff resources.
Madam Chairman, pages B -138 to B -141 list
the performance measures for the Department of E ducation. These measures reflect the priority areas
which will be monitored and for which staff at schools
and the department will be held accountable during
the year.
Madam Chairman, I extend my gratitude and
appreciation to the Commissioner of Education, the Department’s Senior Leadership Team, all other staff
in the Department of Education, our principals, pr eschool administrators, teachers and all other educ ators and support staff for all efforts undertaken on b ehalf of Bermuda’s children. Madam Chairman, we will continue to work together with our parents, u nions,
key stakeholders and community to ensure an educ ation system that will enable each and every child , no
matter where they live, and no matter what school
they attend, to obtain a world- class education.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my presentation on Head [ 17], the Department of Education. I
now with your permission move to the b udget estimates for Head 18.

Yes, you may move on.
And Member, let me just tell you that we are
23 minutes short of breaking for lunch. And at this
time we will continue at 2:00 pm and at that time the
debate wi ll continue up until 4:45, as the official start
time was 10:15 this morning.
So, Minister, please carry us up to the lunch.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Okay. Thank you for your
guidance, Madam Chairman.

HEAD 18 —DEPARTMENT OF LIBRARIES
AND ARCHIVES

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: The Department of Libraries and Archives preserves and facilitates access to
Bermuda’s printed historical records, cultural works
and the Government’s administrative records. The
department encourages lifelong learning by dispens-ing educational and recreational resources, and are committed to providing for the present and future
needs of our community.
Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 estimates of
expenditure and revenue for the Department of Librar-ies and Archives can be found on pages B -142
through B -147 in the Estimates Book. The department’s mission statement and objectives are stated on
page B-142 along with the general summary of its expenditures.
Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 budget alloc ation for the Department of Libraries and Archiv es is
set at $3,027,000. This is an increase of $52,000 over
the previous year.
Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 budget alloc ation for b usiness unit 28000, c ollection management
of $470,000 represents an increase of $20,000 when
compared with the 2021/22 origi nal budget.
The full -time equivalent count for this bus iness unit is four employees, as shown on page B -144.
Madam Chairman, the 2022/23 budget alloc ation for adult services, business unit 28060 is
$389,000, a decrease of $100,000 from the 2021/22
budget allocation. The full -time equivalent count for
this business unit is four employees, as shown on page B -144.
Madam Chairman, page B -142 shows a
2022/23 budget allocation for business unit 28100,
archival services of $301,000. A decrease of $71,000
in expenditure when compared to 2021/22. The full -
time equivalent for this business unit is three, as shown on page B -144.
Madam Chairman, b usiness unit 28110, youth
services , includes programmes catering to the youth
which continue to be popular with families and chi ldren younger than age 14 . The 2022/23 budget is
$449,000 an increase of $11,000 when compared to
last year’s budget. The full -time equivalent for this
business unit is four employees.
Madam Chairman, b usiness unit 28120, r ecords management service s totals $798,000. This r eflects an increase of $181,000 when compared to the
2021/22. The [Government ] Record Centre, located in
Southside, St. David’s provides storage for the Go vernment’s non- current records. The full -time equiv alent for this business u nit is four employees.
Madam Chairman, the last line item in the
general summary [ table ] on page B -142 is $620,000
for business unit 28130. This reflects an increase of
$11,000 more than the 2021/22 allocation. The full -
time equivalent for this business unit is again four e mployees.
Madam Chairman, I will now present the subjective analysis of current account estimates for the Department of Libraries and Archives as found on
page B -143. Salary -related expenses show an i ncrease of $21,000. The declines in expenditure for all
expense accounts reflects a shift of monies from these accounts inclusive of defunding a vacant post in


Bermuda House of Assembly salaries, to cover the shortage of rental monies for the
Records Centre in the White's Building at Southside.
In turn the line item for rentals increased by $217,000.
There were no changes in the remaining current ac-counts compared with 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, page B -144 shows that the
full-time equivalent count for the [ Department ] of Libraries and Archives will be 24 employees for fiscal
year 2022/23. Madam Chairman, I am also proud to
say that all employees for this department are all
Bermudian professionals.
Madam Chairman, the operations of the D epartment of Libraries and Archives are not a major
source [of] revenue for the Government. Fees are
charged for the duplication of archival materials, book
fines, library programme fees, computer fees and photocopy charges and revenue generated is minimal. As
a result of the closures due to the pandemic, the r evised 2021/22 revenue total is $8,000. However, with
the upcoming fiscal year, revenue is anticipated to return to normal and increase to $16,000 as stated on page B -143.
Madam Chairman, the p erformance measures
for the Department of Libraries and Archives are listed
on pages B -142 through B-147 showing the actual
outcomes for fiscal year 2020/21, the original and r evised forecasts for fiscal year 2021/22, and the target
outcomes for 2022/23.
Madam Chairman, due to the pandemic , library staff had to adapt very quickly to working fr om
home. Library staff, therefore, searched for alternatives to continue providing librarian services even
though the physical building was closed to the general public. This resulted in creative and innovative ways
to deliver library services and included:
• Curb Side/Walk -up Pickup. Library members
could call, email or WhatsApp their book r equests. Staff would put together and package
the book requests for the curbside collection.
Library members were provided a pick -up
time to collect their books.
• Virtua l Programmes . The Library’s normal inhouse events were re- designed as Webinars.
For example, the Youth Library STEAM Club
was virtual. The Library prepared Grab & Go
Kits that contained supplies needed for activ ities. These kits were collected from the Youth
Library. Zoom invites and/or YouTube links
were then sent to children to engage in
presentations. Scheduled speakers presented
on various [STEAM ] topics and provided their
workshop to children virtually.
• The Annual Seniors’ Tea. For a second year,
the Youth Library’s Teen Advisory Board
Members delivered “Love Boxes” to 120 grateful seniors instead of hosting the Annual
Seniors’ Tea.
Madam Chairman, all of these services continue to be popular now that the Library has resumed its opening schedule. How ever, the STEAM Club is
back to meeting in the Library with the speaker’s
presentations provided virtually.
Madam Chairman, digiti sation has continued
to be one of the Library’s main objectives. During the
past fiscal year 2021/22, eight years of the Royal G azette newspapers, from January 1954 to December
1962 were digitised from microfilm copies. The pr oposed digitisation target for the next fiscal year
2022/23, is for four years of the Royal Gazette newspaper from January 1963 to December 1966.
Madam Chairman, researchers using both the
Library and the Archives digiti sed collections have
found the service invaluable. During the closure of the
Library and Archives, staff were still able to assist r esearchers. For example, staff at the Archives and the Government Record Centre provided critical assi stance to researchers involved in the Commission of
Inquiry into the Historic Loss of land. Several emails of
thanks and kind sentiments from local and overseas
Researchers were sent to staff [to] express gratitude
for the ability to search digitally. These included:
“We noticed that the online Gazettes now go
to the end of 1953 and we are overjoyed! Thank you
so much for continuing to add more issues. You cannot imagine how helpful this service has been and
continues to be for our research especially now when
it has to be done from home. ”
And the second quote: “I want to report my
admiration of the National Library's digitali sed new spaper collection. It is a most remarkably useful tool, especially for those of us who are away from Bermuda
and, certainly, for all of us in times of quarantine . . . .”
At this time, Madam Chairman, I would like to
take the opportunity to sincerely thank all staff in the
Department of Libraries and Archives for their commitment to providing materials for the recreational and educational needs of our community; and, to preserve
the essential administrative records of the Bermuda Government, and the historical records of Bermuda
while facilitating access to these records for members
of the public.
Madam Chairman, this ends my presentation
on the 2022/23 budget for Head 18, Department of
Libraries and Archives.
I now , with your permission, will move to Head
41, Bermuda College.

So then you can give the complete
. . . yes.

HEAD 41 —BERMUDA COLLEGE

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you for your gui dance.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda College’s
mission is T o provide the community with innovative
programmes, training, support services and access to
partnerships that lead to local and global success. It
demonstrates its commitment to the success of its
diverse student body by offering transfer programmes
leading to success at the university level; offering pr ofessional and technical training leading to success in
the workforce and preparatory programmes leading to the success in the classroom. As the only post -
secondary institution on the I sland, Bermuda College
also realises the significant role it plays in the ec onomic recovery and growth agenda of the Gover nment and the I sland as a whole.
Madam Chairman, as found on page B -148,
the College receives an annual grant from the Ministry
of Education and the allocation for the financial year
2022/23 is $14,654,000 which is $729,000 less than it
received dur ing fiscal year 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, Dr. Duranda Greene is the
President of the Bermuda College which is governed
by a Board of Governors. The Chair of the Board is

• Mr. Nasir Wade, Deputy Chair
• Mr. Tulani Bulford
• Ms. Whitney Butterfield
• Mrs. Cherie Dill
• Mr. Thomas Christopher Famous, JP, MP
• Mr. Frank “Chip” Gillis
• Mr. Jerome Reid, Jr.
• Mrs. Branw yn Smith -King, and
• Mrs. Charmaine Tucker

Ex-officio Members are:
• The Hon. Randolph Horton (Chairman of the
Honorary Fellows)
• Mrs. Valerie Robinson- James (Permanent
Secretary for Education)
• Mr. Paul Hardtman ( Support Staff Repr esentative)
• Miss Daque Davis (Student Representative)
• Ms. Necheeka Trott (Faculty Representative)
Madam Chairman, Bermuda College, as an
accredited institution with the New England Commi ssion on Higher Education, continues to be the most
economical choice for Bermudians and residents on their journey to attain post -secondary education. It not
only offers a great value for money when compared to
the first two years of any four -year institution in the
United Kingdom, North America or the Caribbean, but it also offers innovative education and training, quality instruction and unparalleled student support.
Madam Chairman, like most higher education
institutions around the globe, Bermuda College con-tinues to deal with the coronavirus pandemic and has
held most of its classes remotely for the past year with
a small number of experiential courses held on the campus. The College was del ighted to welcome its
students and staff back on campus earlier this month.
Madam Chairman, in fall 2021 the College i ntroduced its Foundation Year diploma that was speci fically designed to facilitate credit transfer and/or the recognition of college- level achievement for students
who plan to continue their educational studies overseas after completing one year at Bermuda College.
Madam Chairman, at this point I see it is
12:21. I will just pause and finish the brief [after the
lunch break].

Thank you, Minister.
It is now 12:21. We are in Committee of Supply on the Heads 16, 17, 18 and 41. We will break for
lunch at this time and we will resume at 2:00 pm.
So, Minister I would ask that you break us for
lunch.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I move
that we break for lunch until 2:00 pm.

Okay. Thank you, Minister.
It is now lunch time and I will see Members
back here at 2:00 pm, at which time Chairman Neville
Tyrrell will take you into the next portion of your debate.
Thank you, Minister.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Madam Chai rman, and thank you, colleagues.

Proceedings in Committee suspended at 12: 22 pm

Proceedings in Committee resumed at 2:00 pm

[Mr. Neville S. Tyrrell, Chairman]

COMMITTEE OF SUPP LY

ESTIMATES OF REVENUE AND EXPENDITURE
FOR THE YEAR 2022/23

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
[Continuation thereof]

Good afternoon, Members.


Bermuda House of Assembly We are continuing in Committee of Supply for
further consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and
Expendi ture for the year 2022/23. We are debating
the Department of Education, Heads 16, 17, 18 and 41. The Minister has already done Heads 16 and 17.
This is a five -hour debate and will end at 4:53.
Minister, you may proceed.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank y ou, Mr. Chairman.
Did you say Head 41? That is the Head I am
on.

Okay. I apologise.

HEAD 41 —BERMUDA COLLEGE

[Continuing]

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Working with the Bermuda
Insurance Institute, Bermuda College established two
courses in its insurance concentration that will allow students waivers for two of the Institute’s Chartered
Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) examinations.
The College also developed a Re/Insurance Advisory
Board that comprises industry leaders and repr esentatives from St. John’s University and Georgia
Statement University, to advise the college on its i nsurance curriculum and future course/program me offerings.
Mr. Chairman, new offerings offered by its
Professional and Continuing Education (PACE) Div ision included the Virtual Advanced Certificate in Customer Due Diligence offered by the International
Compliance Association (ICA), Coding Certificate,
Digital Reporting, Integrated Marketing Certificate,
Advanced Marketing Concepts, Successful Print Marketing, Integrated Marketing Best Practices, Managing Remote Workers, Remote Working and Communicating, and Advanced Live Online/Zoom Instructor
Trainin g.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda College continues to
establish the National Educators’ Institute (NEI) that
will provide a centralised entity for the professional
learning and conversations of Bermuda’s public and
private school educators, counsellors and mentors .
Over this past year, more than 20 educational professionals from both public and private schools and Bermuda College have been working to operationalise
the four tiers of the NEI —Pedagogy and Practice, S ocial-Emotional, Research, and the Summer Institute.
The Summer Institute has two programmes attached to it: (i) Brothers as Scholars for Black Males; and (ii) a Social Symposium for educators, counsellors
and community members.
A faculty member from the College has been
seconded to the Office of the Pres ident to lead the
development process. One of the key outcomes from
the work undertaken during this past year is the development of professional learning standards.
Mr. Chairman, the Dual Enrolment Pr ogramme, a partnership between Bermuda College and the D epartment of Education, continues to be a success with 36 participating in the programme during
this past year. It should also be noted that at its May
2021 Commencement, eight dual enrolment students
graduated from Bermuda College.
Mr. Chairman, as Bermuda College fulfils its
mission of providing its student s with access to par tnerships that lead to local and global success, the
College held a virtual induction ceremony for nine
“students of excellence” inducted into the Phi Theta
Kappa Honour Society in J anuary. These students
join 34 others who have been inducted since 2019
when the Bermuda College’s Beta Chi Upsilon Cha pter was established.
Mr. Chairman, despite the ongoing pandemic,
Bermuda College continued to do its part to not only educate its students but to also educate and inform
the community at large through various events organ-ised throughout the year. This year’s events included the College’s Annual Roche Science Week virtual
public lecturer with BC alumnus, Miguel Majieas. During the very informative lecture, he passionately
shared his research findings on the breeding and singing behaviour of one of Bermuda’s endemic birds,
the Bermuda white- eyed Vireo, commonly known as
“chick- of-the-village .”
Bermuda College also offered literacy wor kshops f or teachers and parents in partnership with
Literacy How and a Special Topics Insurance course entitled Foundations of Bermuda’s International Re -
Insurance Sector in partnership with ABIR open to the
community. Over 100 community members participated in both programmes.
Mr. Chairman, in May 2021 the College, in
collaboration with the Bermuda College Foundation,
celebrated its first BC Community Day to celebrate its
graduates and to reconnect with its alumni. This event
will now become an annual event.
Mr. C hairman, in 2021 the College’s PACE
Division was ranked fifth throughout Canada, the United States and the Caribbean for generating 283
registrations for LERN online courses during the past year. This represented a 57 per cent increase over
last year and m ore than tripled the number from two
years ago. LERN is the largest continuing education association in the world serving more than 550 instit utions every year.
Mr. Chairman, in October Bermuda College’s
Aquaponics Greenhouse Project, under the leadership
of Mr. Joseph Weeks, was also internationally reco g1070 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly nised and received a National Energy Globe Award by
the international Energy Globe Foundation. The pr oject was one of more than 2,500 projects from 180
countries focusing on protecting the environment.
Mr. Chairman, in February the Bermuda College Company of Honorary Fellows inducted two new Fellows: Mr. Glenn Fubler and Mr. Christopher Ma ybury. Both were honoured and celebrated for the si gnificant contributions made to this community and be-yond in their respective fields.
Mr. Chairman, as the College looks toward
the future, the Board has established a task force to make recommendations as Bermuda College pr epares for its 50
th anniversary and beyond. The task
force is chaired by Bermuda College Honorary Fel low,
Mr. Andrew Banks , and comprises key industry stak eholders.
Mr. Chairman, supporting output measures for
the College’s activities during this past year are as
follows:
In May 2021, Bermuda College held its second virtual and drive- through graduation as a result of
the ongoing pandemic. There were 79 students who
graduated with associate degrees, diplomas or certif icates. This January Bermuda College also held another Winter Commencement, with a live- streamed
ceremony from its newly renovated Athene Lect ure
Theatre. Twenty -four graduates received their assoc iate degrees and 19 graduates from its partner instit utions were acknowledged. The breakdown of graduates by divisions was:
• Arts & Science —31 graduates
• Business —34 graduates
• Hospitality —13 graduates
• Technical Education—16 graduates
• Nursing —9 graduates
Mr. Chairman, thus far this past year, the D ivision of Professional and Career Education (PACE)
awarded 345 professional designations and workforce
development certificates which included 11 public high
school students who received their Certificate for Nursing Assistants , as part of the Department of Education’s dual enrolment programme with the College ,
and 160 high school students who earned the City & Guilds Certificate in Employability Skills. The College is still awaiting confirmation of the successful compl etion of more than 100 registrations for the online LERN programme mentioned previously and compl iance certification.
The awards are as follows:
• American Management Association (AMA)
Certificate in General Management —3
• AMA Certificate in Human Resources —4
• Building Owners & Managers Institute (B OMI)—3
• Endeavour Maritime Springboard Pr ogramme—12
• Certificate in Basic Horticulture (Level 1) —28 • Certificate in Basic Horticulture (Level 2) —9
• International Compliance Association (ICA)
Certificate in Anti -Money Laundering—2
• ICA Certificate in Compliance—1
• ICA Advanced Certificate in Anti -Money
Laundering— 1
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Designation— 1
• Certificate in Bartending —15
• Certificate for Nursing Assistant —16
• Certificate for Nursing Assistants -Bridging— 7
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) —9
Mr. Chairman, in the fall of 2021 the College
enrolled 576 students in its academic divisions. There
were also 576 students serviced through PA CE during
the same period.
Mr. Chairman, in 2021 Bermuda College r eceived $15,382,697, or 78 per cent of its operating
budget from its Government grant. Bermuda College
also received a special grant in the amount of
$300,000 to assist students in financial need with their
tuition in both the academic and PACE divisions during the 2021/22 academic year.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda College’s budgeted
revenue of $4,343,450 from other sources included:
Student tuition and fees for credit courses; PACE revenue; bookst ore revenue; testing centre revenue; and
rental income, including the Coco Reef Resort. This
amount, together with the Government grant, made up
a total revenue figure for the 2021/22 budget year of $19,726,147.
Mr. Chairman, during this period, salaries a nd
benefits accounted for $13,019,210, or 66 per cent of
the budget. This represents a 2 per cent decrease in
salaries when compared to 2020/21. This is due to a
7.5 per cent salary cut that all employees of the College took during April to July 2021 as a result of the
decrease in the Government grant.
During the 2021/22 fiscal year the College expended $140,000 on COVID -19-related expenses.
This included computer hardware and software to
support remote teaching and learning and security
costs for the two h ealth checkpoints on the campus.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda College’s IT expend itures for the year included $40,000 on augmented reality and virtual reality products to provide students
with virtual hands -on experiences via simulation activ ities and $300,000 on contracts and licences to support teaching and learning, as well as the College’s administrative functions. The College continues to
replace high priority hardware and infrastructure items
identified as being near to end of their useful life i ncluding swi tches, servers, cabling, telephone systems
and other computer hardware items.
In addition to the Government grant, Bermuda
College is thankful for the support of corporate donors
who have to date donated $571,175 via the Bermuda
College Foundation to assi st in the updating of the
College’s IT infrastructure. In addition, Bermuda ColBermuda House of Assembly lege also received donations totalling $2,459,000 t owards the development of the Career Development
Centre and the renovations to one of its lecture theatres.
Mr. Chairman, as part of the College’s commitment to providing a safe and healthy environment for its students and employees, it spent $400,000 on
improvements to its physical plant, and routine clea ning and maintenance contracts. Bermuda College is
projected to spend $450, 000 on insurance and
$820,000 on electricity and other utilities during the
2021/22 fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, a total of $44,950 in financial
assistance was allocated to students enrolled in the academic divisions who demonstrated a financial need from the College operating budget. This amount
was supplemented with the additional $300,000 from
the Government mentioned previously and another
$297,306 from donations received by the Bermuda
College Foundation. Additionally, students received
$102,072 in schol arships from private donors. A total
of 531 awards were granted to 356 students over the
course of the 2021/22 academic year.
Mr. Chairman, salaries continue to form the
majority of the College’s budgeted expenses and the College continues to review its operations, seeking
ways to decrease its labour costs, while still providing quality education to its students. As a result of the decrease in the Government grant for the next fiscal
year, the College has decided to defer the hiring and
not fund a vacant position and will be looking at r eclassifying positions to better meet the needs of the
institution.
Mr. Chairman, Delivering Success, Bermuda
College’s strategic plan, is the blueprint to steer the
College towards its 50
th anniversary in 2024. Forty -five
thousand dollars from the grant will be set aside for
implementing the third year of the plan. Additional
funding for capital projects outlined in the strategic
plan, including solar panels, the move to LED lighting and the upgrading and expansion of the Col lege aquaponics lab has been secured via the Bermuda College Foundation.
As part of the Government’s agenda, Berm uda College will utilise the $300,000 tuition grant to as-sist students with financial needs in the academic and
PACE divisions. It is anticipat ed that a comparative
number of students will be assisted with the 2022/23
grant.
Mr. Chairman, during the upcoming year the
College will review its automotive programme to i nclude the maintenance of hybrid and electric cars; its
heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) pr ogramme and its insurance programme. All pr ogrammes will be reviewed with the assistance of an
Advisory Board made up of industry professionals.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda College will continue
to work with the Department of Education t o provide
college courses to qualified students through its Dual Enrolment programme as part of the Signature pr ogrammes to be introduced to the Bermuda Public
School System curriculum. The College will continue
to forge alliances with professional credent ialing and
accrediting agencies for workforce development and
professional certification, such as: the Association of
Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA); Building
Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI) for building
owners and managers; City & Guilds for the applied
sciences; Global Knowledge for information technol ogy, International Compliance Association (ICA), Ass ociation of Certified Anti -Money Laundering Specialists
(ACAMS) and KIXKO for compliance; and local pr ofessional bodies.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda College will also establish an entrepreneurship concentration to its Ass ociate in Business programme and offer an entrepr eneurship course to complement its technical education programmes. Bermuda College will also continue to
expand its articulation agreements with higher educ ation institutions in the United Kingdom and throughout
North America to ensure a seamless transition for
Bermuda College graduates who wish to pursue addi-tional education at three- and four -year institutions.
Mr. Chairman, Bermuda College will establish a
committee of key stakeholders to start preparing for its 50
th anniversary that will take place in 2024. It will co ntinue to work on establishing a complete and accurate
database of its alumni including those from its three
antecedent institutions —the Bermuda Technical Inst itute, the Academic Six Form Centre and the Bermuda Hotel and Catering College to invite its alumni to cel ebrate this milestone with them.
Mr. Chairman, during the next fiscal year, the
College will review its per cr edit tuition rate that has
not been reviewed since 2019.
Mr. Chairman, as I close, I wish to thank the
Board, the executive, administration, faculty, and staff
of Bermuda College for their work throughout this
year, and I look forward to working with them in the coming year to help students of multiple ages to pursue their career and personal aspirations.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman, this concludes the
budget on Head 41, the Bermuda College; and, my
overall presentation of the 2022/23 Budget for the
Ministry of Education.

Thank you.
I would like to begin by thanking the Minister.
That was a fulsome brief. It certainly is an awful lot of
1072 21 March 2022 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly information to receive at one time, but I also apprec iate receiving a full overview of the Ministry and all of
its departments because this is the one time of year
when we really get to look at the full picture of educ ation in the public school system in Bermuda and to be
able to ask questions.
So, Mr. Chairman, I am going to ask some
questions and take advantage of the Standing Order that says that w e can ask questions on policy and
services. So although I will attach it to line items it is difficult to scrutinise the financial budget of education, especially this year getting back up on our feet. Certainly the investment in our children is an important
component of our future. I am really looking to understand and get a broader picture of the overall reform that is taking place now. So I will have the general
theme around education reform. And then also I will
have a series of questions that are sort of ad hoc and
to the side.
So, Mr. Chairman, with that I would like to
begin with the Ministry of Education Headquarters on page B -127.