March 10, 2021

Thank you, Minister. You have the
floor.
PROFESS IONAL DEVELOPMENT
FOR PUBLIC SCHOOL EDUCATORS
Hon. D iallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Speaker, t oday I rise to
share with my honourable colleagues and the com-munity at large the efforts that are being undertaken to
develop the workforce for Bermuda’ s schools and the
professional development that will be provided
throughout education reform and thereafter. M r.
Speaker, commencing in January 2021, and to date,
the Ministry of Education has been holding consulta-tion meetings to share the i ntroduction of parish primary school proposals. During many of those consultation meetings participants have asked, What wil l you
do to prepare teachers for the new vision of learning?
How will you get them ready for the transformation?
Mr. Speaker, w e have responded that professional development will play a key role in preparing teachers to implement a powerful vision for learning
that we expect to take place in Bermuda’ s classrooms
every day. We have also stated that professional development will be provided throughout educational
reform, and it will continue after the Bermuda
Public
688 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly School System [BPPS] has been transformed. Specif -
ically, professional development will be ongoing and
job-embedded to ensure that our teachers are
equipped with the knowledge and skills needed to
help all students achieve high learning, development standards and improved student results.
Mr. Speaker, t he OECD [Organi sation for
Economic Co -operation and Development ] comprises
37 member countries that d iscuss and develop economic and social policy. The OECD ’s stated goal is to
shape policies that foster prosperity, equality, opportunity and well -being for all. Mr. Speaker, the OECD is
an important organi sation because it plays a key role
in sharing infor mation data and measuring progress
on poverty eradication or inequality and in bringing to
the forefront solutions pertinent for the betterment of
humanity and children.
Mr. Speaker, an excerpt from an OECD report
on professional development stated (and I quote ), “In
many countries, the role and functioning of schools are changing and so is what is expected of teachers.
Teachers are asked to teach in increasingly multicultural classrooms; to place greater emphasis on integrating students with special learning needs in their
classrooms; to make more effective use of information
and communication technologies for teaching; to engage more in planning within evaluative and accountability frameworks; and to do more to involve parents
in schools . . .
“Education syste ms therefore seek to provide
teachers with opportunities for in -service professional
development in order to maintain a high standard of
teaching and to retain a high- quality teacher workforce. ”
Mr. Speaker, w e recogni se the integral role of
teacher s and leaders who have had significant responsibilities placed on them. We also acknowledge the Education Department ’s role to ensure ongoing
opportunities for professional development.
Mr. Speaker, t he OECD adopts a broad definition of “professional dev elopme nt.” It is defined as
“activities that develop an individual ’s skills,
knowledge, expertise and other characteristics as a
teacher. ” An OECD report also stated that professional development could serve the following objectives:
• to update individuals ’ knowl edge of a subject
in light of recent advances in the area;
• to update individuals ’ skills, attitudes and approaches in light of the development of new
teaching techniques and objectives, new circumstances and new educational research;
• to enable individuals to apply changes made
to curricula or other aspects of teaching practice;
• to enable schools to develop and apply new
strategies concerning the curriculum and other aspects of teaching practice; • to exchange information and expertise among
teachers and other s, e.g., academics, industrialists; and
• to help weaker teachers become more effec-tive.
Mr. Speaker, the Ministry and Department of
Education recog nise the critical importance of professional development and the need to provide professional development for our leaders, teachers and
school staff on an ongoing basis. Mr. Speaker, provid -
ing professional development during education refo rm
is extremely important as we prepare for the significant changes that legislation will bring to the Bermuda
Public School S ystem by (1) p hasing out middle
schools ; ( 2) introducing signature schools ;
(3) introducing a signature school for students with
exceptionalities ; (4) introducing an alternative education signature school ; and ( 5) adding two additional
years to primary sch ools and one additional year to
senior schools .
Mr. Speaker, Plan 2022 priority 3 communicates the strategies that are to be executed as they
relate to developing the workforce that is responsible
for equipping Bermuda ’s children with the knowledge,
skills, values and dispositions so that they can successfully transition to colleges and universities and the workforce and to ultimately lead and compete locally
and globally, fulfilling the vision for e ducation.
Mr. Speaker, professional development for
teachers is an imperative. We know that the evidence
continues to accumulate showing that teachers ’ highquality professional development influences student
performance. High- quality professional development
is essential to the nation’ s goal of high standards of
learning for every child. The most important investment school systems can make is to ensure that leaders and teachers continue to learn.
Mr. Speaker, the OECD indicates that professional development activities can include the following:
• courses/worksh ops (e.g. , on subject matter o r
methods and/or other education- related topics);
• education conferences or seminars (at whic h
teachers and/or researchers present their research results and discuss education problems);
• qualification programme (e.g. , a degree programme);
• observation visits to other schools;
• participation in a network of teachers formed
specifically for the profes sional development
of teachers;
• individual or collaborative research on a topic
of professional interest; and
• mentoring and/or peer ob servation and coaching as part of a formal school arrangement ;
• reading professional literature ( e.g., journals,
evidence- based papers, thesis papers); and


Bermuda House of Assembly • engaging in informal dialogue with peers on
how to improve teaching.
Mr. Speaker , over the past three and a half
years the Department of Education has provided quality professional development activities for our teachers
and specialist staff (including paraeducators and educational therapist assistants ), including the types of
professional development ac tivities that I just referenced. All of these efforts are aligned with Plan 2022
priority 3, which focuses on the efforts to be expanded
to enhance the quality of teacher practices and system leadership.
Mr. Speaker , there are designated professional development days on the academic calendar
each year in September, October, January and February. This past September 2020 we added additional
days for professional development to ensure that
school leaders and staff were well -versed about the
new Entry to Exit Safety and Health Protocols that
would have to be strictly adhered to in our schools in
light of the COVID -19 pandemic. Mr. Speaker , the
professional development days designated on the academic calendar are in addition to the site- based professional devel opment days set aside for school leaders to coordinate site- based professional development
and hold wor kshops facilitated for school staff b y D epartment of Education Technical Officers.
Mr. Speaker , this year, in support of principals’ efforts to hold si te-based professional development aligned with school improvement plans and in
alignment with Plan 2022 Strategy 3.1.1, three days
were designated for schools to close early. The first
early closure for professional development was at 2:00 pm on Tuesday, N ovember 10, 2020. And as a
reminder to parents and guardians, the remaining early closures for professi onal development will take
place on Thursday, April 1, 2021, and Thursday,
May 27, 2021, at 2:00 pm.
Mr. Speaker , the types of professional development activities that the Department of Education
provided for teachers and school staff during the Feb -
ruary 2021 professional development days serve as
excellent examples of the quality and type of professional development provided by officers, school staff
and community partners. These professional development activities included workshops on a range of
topics , including using digital tools and dealing with
our staff’s and teachers ’ social and emotional needs.
[The workshops] include the following :
1. Standards -Based Grading Assessment ( ongoing professional development );
2. Math Mastery Flow ( in support of our ef f orts to
improve math instruction and student outcomes for mathematics) ;
3. Psychologically Safe ;
4. Creating Assessments in Schoology ;
5. Getting Started with PearDeck ( how to use interactive Google slides for presentation) ;
6. Maximi sing Videos with EdPuzzle; 7. Innovative Ways to Use Plickers ( using Plickers to increase student engagement) ;
8. Using the Flipped Classroom ;
9. Creating Your Own Bitmoji ;
10. Creating and Using Digital and Interactive
Notebooks ;
11. Using and Managing Your Google Drive;
12. Resiliency in Your Classroom ;
13. Are You Using Your Self -Care Toolkit ? (facilitated by the EAP [Employee Assistance Programme] );
14. Social Studies Assessment Creation;
15. Math Assessment Creation;
16. Middle School Science Teacher Constructivist
Learning Model and Backwards Design ;
17. English Language Arts Assessment Creation;
18. Foreign Language Assessment Creation;
19. Creating a Future for the Arts ;
20. [School Counsellors PD: Bio Psychosocial
Assessment and Interventions ;]
21. Behaviour Specialist Training —Behaviour Interventions ;
22. The Purpose and Policy o f Intervention Learning Plans ;
23. Student Services: Meeting the Needs of Our
Students .
Mr. Speaker , efforts have been made [to ensure] that the professional development activities allow school staff to go deeper and deepe r with the
workshops ’ content during the year. For example,
workshops on standards -based grading take place
during all workshop days to enable teachers and
leaders to d ig deeper and deeper in the learning of
content and skills.
Mr. Speaker , staff have opportunities to select
workshops; however, some of the workshops provide d
are also mandatory for staff. This occurs when there
are systemwide practices that teachers and leaders
are expected to carry out at the school level. Even
when the sessions are mandatory, there is still s ome
opportunity to personali se professional development.
For example, Mr. Speaker , all teachers in the Bermuda Public School System must participate in workshops on Schoology; however , staff can access the
workshop in both self -paced or virtual workshops.
Also, Mr. Speaker , since May 2020 EAP has
played a key role in providing workshops for BPSS
staff during systemwide professional development
days and at other times. To date, EAP has facilitated
over 26 sessions with staff, focusing on equipping
them with tools and strategies to navigate the demands of their roles. Mr. Speaker , we have included
these workshops from the EAP because our staff ’s
social /emotional well -being is critical.
Mr. Speaker , in addition to these offerings,
profess ional development activities connected specifically to staff and students ’ needs are determined and
co-ordinated by the senior school principals, the P rincipal at DAME [Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy]
690 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly and the A cting Director of Success Academy during
designated professional development days.
Mr. Speaker , I want to take a moment to highlight that the entire staff at DAME , under the guidance
of the principal , are working to earn Registered Behaviour Tec hnician (RBT) certification . And some
members of the staff have already successfully completed the training.
Mr. Speaker , the Assistant Director of Early
Childhood Education leads and coordinates the professional development activities for preschool administrators and staff. Preschool leaders and teachers
have been receiving intensive professional development designed to ensure integration of the inquiry
model of teaching and learning with the Creative Curriculum. There has also been significant investment in
professional development in the use of Teaching
Strategies Gold, the online platform for planning, d o cumentation, assessment and communication internally
and with parents and guardians. Mr. Speaker , I would
also highlight that Bermuda public school pr eschools
have earned Teaching Strategies Gol d’s Ambassador
status recognition because of their commitment to
improving children ’s outcomes through professional
development.
Mr. Speaker , we have communicated our
commitment to a foundation year. As we prepare for
this, starting this year, early years training for P rimary
1 teachers has been provided twice a month to equip
teachers with evidence- based strategies to increase
student engagement and facilitate active learning.
Teachers also learned how to engage in authentic
assessment by using students ’ observations in more
creative exploration during inquiry learning. Teachers have been exposed to a more progressive, engaging
and personali sed approach to teaching and learning,
which has opened the teachers to t he possibilities of
what can be achieved thr ough active learning and inquiry learning.
Mr. Speaker , training in SCERTS ( social
communication, emotional regulation, transactional supports ) started a few years ago. This year the training continued to provide continuity and ongoing progress of the Gro wing Connections ’ preschool children
with ASD [autism spectrum disorder] and developmental delays. Additionally, Mr. Speaker , learning
support teachers , [in] ASD and f unctional skills classes received coaching on engaging and supporting
children with challenges within their classroom ’s natural environment.
Mr. Speaker , ensuring that our students with
special needs are provided quality services, the learning support teachers have been provided with ongoing profess ional training on the School Team Process;
Pre-Referral Intervention Process, IEP [individualised
education programme] planning and audits ; intervention learning plans ; dyslexia; ADHD; and Identifying
Key Concepts with Behaviour. Learning support
teachers were also presented with IEP implementa-tion and documentation methods to collect data for IEPs and ILPs [individualised learning plans] accurately. Professional development was provided for
school staff in learning styles that focused on children’s instruc tional, behavioural and environmental
needs. Mr. Speaker , workshops are also provided for
paraeducators and educational therapist assistants as
required by Plan 2022 Strategy 3.21.
Mr. Speaker , principals are responsible for
leading and coor dinating prof essional development for
their staff throughout the year. At the primary and
middle levels, the professional development is aligned
with the targets and objectives set out in the school
improvement plan. In collaboration with education officers, principals delivered site- based professional
development in the following areas: Writing Proficiency; Mathematics; Reading; Research- based Instructional Strategies; and Innovation. This is also connected to the Government ’s Education Platform and
its commitment to e nsuring teachers ’ professional developm ent to improve students ’ learning outcomes.
Mr. Speaker , ongoing professional development is also provided for school principals and the
Department of Education Technical Officers each
month by the Standards -Based Grading Standing
Committee. Principals and deputy principals also participate in workshops facilitated by the Assistant Director of Educational Standards and Accountability.
Mr. Speaker , in alignment with Plan 2022
Strategy 3.5, the first Principal Certification Programme has commenced at the Bermuda College via
a partnership with Framingham State University. The
Graduate Certificate Program me in Educational Leadership started on October 12
th, 2020, and the cohort of
13 (and, Mr. Speaker, there might be a m istake in the
Statement that was i ssued. It say s 14, but I believe it
is 13)—and the cohort of 13 educators includes
teachers, year -level heads, mentor teachers, deputy
principals, acting principals and Department of Education officers.
Mr. Speaker , teachers’ professional development is an essential component of the comprehensive
school reform. As we look to the future of education,
we recogni se that we will need a high- quality, sustainable, professional learning plan for teachers, specialist
staff, and school and Department of Education o fficers. That plan will be sustainable and researched and
will include:
1) site-based professional learning which targets
the needs of individual schools and their staff ;
2) system wide professional learning focused o n
buildin g the knowledge and skills of all staff
for national priorities that will improve the outcomes for students ;
3) national -level professional learning for all educators on the Island .
The Department of Education will also look to
the National Education Instit ute (NEI) to provide leadership with professional learning opportunities for all


Bermuda House of Assembly of Bermuda’ s educators. The National Educators Institute will provide strands of professional learning, including Pedagogy, Social Emotional Learning, Peer
Coaching, Research and Scholarship, and Brot hers
as Scholars. Teachers for Teachers will facilitate the
NEI’s professional learning; it will be job -embedded ,
ongoing, and based on educator interest . It will be
inquiry -based and will include peer coaching.
Mr. Speaker , I want to share about the wor k
that will take place to develop the education workforce , one of six national and core priorities currently
being addressed by the Learning First Design team,
which is focused on three areas. There will be professional learning fo r educators to support th e implementation of school redesign.
The ideas that are currently under development in this category include creating a teaching task
force of skilled mentors and coaches able to demonstrate, support and quality -ensure new teaching practices as they are introduced into schools ; and an approach to practice development based on the proven
lesson study model in which educators work together
using peer observation and coaching to test and improve new lessons, resources and assessments and
embed these in their practice .
Mr. Speaker, we will introduce consistent
teaching standards and shared accountability for excellence. The ideas being explored in this category
include the following:
• the development, with the profession, of Bermudian p rofessional standards for educators
that describe key aspects of effective practice on every career stage from novice to master
teacher and into leadership roles, including
school principal and administrator ;
• support for schools to become professional
learning communities rich in evidence- based
models for professional learning where collaboration is the norm ; and
• a professional growth planning team, [with]
educators working together each summer
term to plan, design and commission profes-sional learning for t he coming year, based on
national and school priorities and educators'
needs and interests .
Mr. Speaker, we also plan to raise the teaching profession ’s profile and make a career in education a natural choice for Bermuda’ s brightest graduates. Ideas for achiev ing this include an annual Bermudian education conference showcasing the best of
public and private e ducation in Bermuda; and p artnerships between schools, businesses and community
organi sations to provide work placements, enrichment
and resources for students, and career development
opportunities for educators, including exchanges and
externships .
Mr. Speaker , the American Federation of
Teachers has stated that “ the nation can adopt rigorous standards, set forth a visionary scenario, compile the best research about how students learn, change
textbooks and assessment, promote teaching strategies that have been successful with a wide range of
students, and change all the other elements involved
in systemic reform —but without professional development, school reform and improved achievement for
all students will not happen. ”
Mr. Speaker , we will continue to make professional development a priority now and throughout education reform. We will also develop an infrastructure
for sustainable professional l earning for our educato rs
to become a natural part of their work experience.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker .

The written questions that are on the
Order Paper we already agreed on Monday that they
will be carried over until Friday.

QUESTIONS: CONSOLIDATED FUND
ACCOUNTS MARCH 2018 –MARCH 2020
[Deferred]

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Will the Honourable
Premier pleas e confirm to this Honourable House
the value of the total accounts receivables due to
the Government of Bermuda’s Consolidated Fund as at March 31, 2018, March 31, 2019 and March
31, 2020?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Will the Honourable
Minister please provide this Honourable House an
aged receiv able schedule for the three years in
question?

Hon. N. H. Cole Simons: Will the Honourable
Minister please confirm to this Honourable House
the value and details of receivables written off the
Government’s books for t he last three years?

Yes. I would like to give
congratulations to three young -ish Bermudians on
their recent pr omotion s at BELCO. I will start with the
Honourable Member Wayne M. Caines, who will be
the President of BELCO in summertime. In his short
time there he has made an indelible impression, and
we wish him well because we need Bermudians at the
helm of BELCO.
The second congratulation is to Ms. Shell y
[Michelle] Leland. She is now going to be Managing
Director of what we call the Grid, the transmission and
distribution. Shelly has been there 20 years. She
started off as an environmental technician and has
worked her way up into management. And if ever
there is an outage she is always on the frontline
communicating to Bermudians about when their lines
are likely to be back on, and at the same time, simultaneously ensuring that the gentlemen in the field
have al l of the supplies they need. So she is well positioned to be in that space.
And lastly but not least, I want so speak very
broadly about —highly of a young man came up
through the ranks of Somerset Cricket Club. And he is
none other than Mr. Nadir Wade.
I think you may know him. He is the Cooks Hi ll
sort of DNA.

And he is now the Managing Director of Bulk Generation, which is essentially
the power outflow system. MP Neville Tyrrell wants to
be associated with all three. I think all the whole
House would b e because as we see our Bermudians
progress into these positions we must give a hearty thank -you not just to them, but to their families who
stood behind them. And in this case, especially the
Wade family who are stalwarts of Somerset.
Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Okay. You have your three minutes,
Minister of Education.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Yes, Mr. Speaker.
I would like for the House to send appropriate
condolences —and I am sure I can associate the entire House—for the untimely death of Dr. Joseph
Christopher , a giant in our education system —I mean,
it goes without speaking the contributions that Dr.
Christop her has given to our system . And we in Bermuda, we are all feeling this loss at the moment, Mr.
Speaker. I was almost speechless when I got the
word yesterday.
And I would like for this House to send app ro -
priate condolences to his family, Mr. Speaker.

Yes, Mr. Speaker. I
would like to be associated with the [congratulations]
to MP Caines on his promotion and to Ms. Shelly . . .
Mr. Speaker, I would also like to particularly
congratulate and offer congratulations to Nadir Wade, who was a graduate of the Berkeley Institute and
worked in DC for the [US] Federal Government. His
twin brother works with us, Mr. Speaker. They ar e
twins from Somerset. One has a mechanical engineering degree, the one who is with us, Nasir [Wade].
And Nadir has an electrical engineering degree. Mr.
Speaker, they both worked for the Ministry of Public
Works during the summer in 2006, I believe, 2006 or
2007, and participated in designing the electricals and
the mechanicals for the Perimeter Lane housing complex.
So I have watched their progress over a number of years and provided support and encouragement. I think this is an excellent decision by BELCO.
Nadir and his brother come with a commitment to this
community beyond just their employment. They are
heavily involved in Somer set Cricket Club and even
coaching at this point in time.
I am sure that they will do —all of these three
[who have been prom oted] will do an outstanding job
not just for BELCO, but for this community. And I ask
that the House send congratulations to all t hree of
them. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Minister.


Bermuda House of Assembly Does any other Member wish to make a contribution at this time?
No other Member?
Then I would just like to make a contribution.
In today’s paper under Lifestyle, you will see a st ory
on a young 97- year-old Ms. [Viola] Rogers from Somerset. And it has highlighted the contribution that she
has made in her community over the years.
I would just like to recognise her this morning
as well, in that she has been a stalwart in the Sandys
community and is loved by all in the community. And
her presence is always felt in a very positive way in
our community. I would just like for that to be noted
with the article that is in today’s paper.
With that said, we will now move on to the
next Order on the paper.

MATTERS OF PRIVILEGE

And for the listening audience, we are
on the s econd day of the annual Budget Debate. As
you know, there are some 56 hours that are put aside for the debate, 8 hours eac h day. And we are here
today to debate two Ministries that will come up in
these eight hours.
During the time that we are debating the
budget, we are in the Committee stage, which means that the Speaker is out of the House and the House is
in the hands of the Panel of Chairs led by the Deputy
Speaker. And this morning it will be a member of the
Panel of Chairs who will take the first si tting this morning. And I believe it will be the Honourable Member
Famous.
Before he takes the Chair, we will call on the
Minister of Finance to move us into Committee, and then the Honourable Member Famous will share that
session.
Minister. Hon. Curtis L. Dickinson: Good morning, Mr.
Speaker.

Honourable Members, we are now in
Committee of Supply for further consideration of the
Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22. Today we will be discussing Heads 16, 17,
18, 41—and now are to be debated.
I now call on the Minister in charge to proceed. Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, I move that
the following Heads, Head 16, Ministry of Education
Headquarters; Head 17, Department of Educ ation;
Head 18, Libraries and Archives; Head 41, Bermuda
Colleg e, now be taken under consideration.

Proceed, Minister.

MINISTRY OF EDUCATION

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, today I am
pleased to present the budget for the Ministry of Education, which comprises the Ministry of Education
Headquarters, Head 16; the Department of Education,
Head 17; the Department of Libraries and Archives,
Head 18; and the Bermuda College, Head 41.
Mr. Chairman, the 2021/22 budget for the
Ministry of Education of $128,110,000 is found on
page B -134 of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year 2021/22. This represents an
decrease of 9,352,000 compared the 2020/21 origi nal
budget. The current account 2021/22 estimated revenue for the Ministr y of Education is $246,000. The
capital expenditure estimate for acquisition and devel694 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly opment increased from $2,810,000 last year to
$2,881,000 for 2021/22. The total number of full -time
equivalents for the Ministry totalled 1,066 employees.
Mr. Chairman, in October last year UNESCO,
the United Nations Education, Scientific and Cultural Organisation, declared that the coronavirus pandemic
outbreak had impacted every education system
worldwide. Although Bermuda is only 21.5 square
miles in land mass situated in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, with just over 4,400 public school children, the education of our children was impacted with no
exception. The pandemic affected teaching and learning in all of Bermuda’s private schools, as well.
Mr. Chairman, COVID -19 required our teachers, our parents and our students to rapidly adjust to new modes of learning. In a matter of weeks, our
schools had to find and implement viable alternatives
to traditional models of teaching in a classroom setting. The impact of COVID -19 has raised several
questions about how the delivery of education might
look in the future. The experience has not only
opened our eyes to the challenges of remote learning,
but al so to some exciting possibilities of how teaching
and learning outside the classrooms might play a bigger role in the education of our students.
Along with all educators and support staff, I
am acutely aware of not only the effects to date, but
the medium - and long -term impacts of COVID -19 on
young people as they grow and develop through their
educational lives. As a system, we have in place plans
and programmes to address learning loss and to provide for the additional social/emotional needs of stu-dents, as well as staff. While this budget is focused on
the next fiscal year, I want to highlight that for the year
ahead and for several years to come, the ongoing im-plications of the pandemic are a critical consideration
on how we change public education to meet the multiple needs of children. With this, Mr. Chairman, I am
compelle d to share insights on education reform as it
has progressed steadily during the past year despite
the impact of the pandemic. It will also continue to be
implemented during the upcom ing fiscal year, notwithstanding the decrease in the Ministry’s 2021/22 b udget.
During the presentation of the Education
Budget this year, I stated that the education of our children has become an established culture of fixed
methods, fixed processes and fixed systems. The
methods, processes and systems must be upgraded
and newly designed to facilitate 21
st century learning
and teaching. Therefore, Mr. Chairman, our sustained
commitment to education reform continues to be intentional in bringing about the needed changes in our
public school system. To implement the progressive
and transformative education practices required to
elevate teaching and learning, our children today and
in generations to come will be set on a path that positions them to compete wi th their peers both locally
and globally. This will be the Education Mini stry’s mantra and modus operandi until these objectives are
met for each and every child in each and every public
school in Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, as a result, the programmes
and ser vices delivered by the Ministry departments
and the Bermuda College coord inate to create progressive learning opportunities for our students and for our educators, in alignment with the changes
needed for 21
st century teaching and learning. One
generation—that is all it takes to transform our public
school education. Mr. Chairm an, during the upcoming
budget year , monies have been set aside to continue
the transformative work started, and that is how the Ministry of Education will continue to function—that i s,
with a methodical and intentional budget strategy. The
monies required each year to progress the transformative work will be budgeted through each fiscal year ,
as the education reform is our priority.

HEAD 16 —MINISTRY OF EDUCATION
HEADQUARTERS

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. 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 -135, is “to provide strategic
leaders hip and policy direction for education and lifelong learning.” The object ives of the Ministry Headquarters are outlined accordingly on the same page.
Mr. Chairman, technical officers in the Ministry
Headquarters, as well as members of the Education
Refor m Governance Team, worked diligently during
the past budget year executing several policy decisions to support the four domains of education reform. These include (1) legislation to phase out middle
schools and introduce signature schools; (2) implementati on of the Learning First Programme; (3) consultation on the introduction of parish primary schools;
and (4) research on the development of an Education
Authority.
Also, Mr. Chairman, due to the COVID -19
pandemic, technical officers had to cancel the Ministry’s regularly scheduled face- to-face events with public school students . With the implementation of safety
and health school protocols and the importance of
establishing and maintaining bubbles, weekly visits to
different school buildings did not occur. Also, Mr.
Chairman, the Ministry was required to cancel our annual Youth in Parliament Summit, which develops
leadership skills of student leaders at each school
level.
Nonetheless, Mr. Chairman, the following
events were hosted by the Ministry during the past
year: the annual Father’s Day Essay Competition; the
Father’s Speak Forum; and World Teacher Day Proclamation. Mr. Chairman, the annual Father’s Day Essay competition is held every year in June to give an
opportunity for students to celebrate their f athers. P5


Bermuda House of Assembly and P6 students are invited to submit essays in their
own hand writing about their father or a father figure.
The student essays are judged, and prizes are
awarded to the overall P5 and P6 winners, with other
prizes awarded by school zone. This y ear there were
eight student winners, each of whom received
Chromebooks w hich were donated.
Mr. Chairman, the Father’s Speak series resumed in November. This series ensures that the unique perspectives of fathers and male guardians
are heard and taken int o consideration. The series are
critical opportunities to recognise and acknowledge
the value of fatherhood in education, including the
social/emotional well -being of our young people and
their achievements, attainment and outcomes. The
roundtable discussi ons engage fathers to share experiences and learn from each other about how to
strengthen their relationships with their children by
becoming more involved as parents.
Mr. Chairman, the United Nations declared
October 5, 2020, as World Teacher Day, with t he
theme, “Teachers: Leading in crisis, reimagining the
future.” In recog nition of Bermuda’s teachers in both
public and private schools, the Ministry, in collaboration with the Bermuda Union of Teachers, held a proclamation ceremony on the steps of City H all. There
were teachers, principals, students and stakeholders
in attend ance to honour all educators. The reflection
was specifically on the commitment our teachers
make as leaders, particularly teaching in a range of
environments throughout this COVID -19 pandemic.
We appreciate the work of all of our educators.
Mr. Chairman, as the Ministry progresses forward with education reform, it is important to keep
stakeholders and the general public aware of the vari-ous activities being undertaken. Therefore, the Ministry engaged in a series of biweekly radio talk shows to
discuss, in form and also respond to questions about
education reform. Topics discussed on the talk sho ws
to date include the school consultation on the proposal to introduce parish primary schoo ls, the research work done to establish an Education Authority,
and the d esign team work undertaken for the Learning
First Programme. These biweekly talk shows will continue through the next fiscal year.
Mr. Chairman, the work of the Board of Education during the year has steadily progressed. As p er the Education Act 1996, the main functions of the
Board of Education are to make recommendations to
the Minister regarding various educational matters
that will ultimately lead to the improvement and more
efficient and effective delivery of public education.
Mr. Chairman, last year I tasked the board
with four projects to enrich the delivery of education in the system which align with the technical and adaptive
strategies and outcomes articulated in Plan 2022, the
strategic plan for public school education. These projects were (1) c reating new pathways to help enhance
the recruitment and development of teachers; (2) researching a tiered license designation structure;
(3) review ing a proposal for a master teacher designation structure; and (4) developing a registration process that requires private schools and tutorial sites to
register annually or biannually.
Mr. Chairman, the Board of Education successfully framed four policies to support the development and im plementation of three of these projects.
The school registration process for private schools
and tutorial sites was placed on hold. Nevertheless, the board advanced the following career development
policies in alignment with Plan 2022 for recommendations t o implement, these being (1) a master teacher
designation; (2) Pathways t o Teaching in Bermuda;
(3) a tiered licence structure for educators; and (4) a
Teacher Certification loan bond.
The implementation of these policies was prioritised with Ministry tec hnical officers currently designing the rollout of the teacher certificat ion bonded
loan policy. This policy focuses on supporting the
Bermudianisation of teachers in the education system
by providing local opportunities and support for career-transferring professionals to become certified
teachers with limited financial duress . The loss of salaries while completing a 12- week teaching practicum
has become a roadblock for many. By affording a bonded loan to cover living expenses, persons will be
able to focu s on their teaching practicum experience
and thus successfully complete t he teaching certification without financial impediment.
Mr. Chairman, this policy recommendation
supports Plan 2022 priority 3- 1, enhancing the quality
of teacher practice and system leadership, and specifically the key outcome, which states that 90 per c ent
of teachers are certified in their assigned field. I plan
to publicly share the details of this initiative after the
rollout design has been completed.
Mr. Chairman, in October t he Ministry of Education collaborated with officers of the Bermuda Unio n of Teachers for the first time ever, an Education
Emergency Measures Committee (EEMC) was
formed. The mission of the EEMC is to coordinate the
efforts of the Ministry of Education, the Department o f
Education and each representative organisation in providi ng guidance to schools for mitigating, preparing
and responding to and recovering from any COVID -
19-related emergency in the public school system and
any other critical school incident, both natural or
manmade. Since October, the EEMC has had six
meetings.
Mr. Chairman, on page B -136 you will see
that the Ministry of Education Headquarters has been
allocated a budget of $4,160,000 for the 2021/22 fiscal year. Within programme 1601, business unit
26000, General Administration, $2,23 4,000 will support the operational and administrative functions of the
Ministry.
Mr. Chairman, under programme 1601, business unit 26080, a total of $501,000 has been budg696 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly eted for external grants and the Bermuda College
Promise [programme]. This lower amount reflects a
decrease of $321,000, as the budgeted amount was
maintained at the COVID -19 revised amount used for
the last fiscal year. In awarding grant money, the Ministry will continue to deliver progr ammes and services
which directly impact students to help them improve
and achieve success.
Mr. Chairman, of the $501,000, a total of
roughly $280,000 has been set aside to fund the mer-it-based College Promise programme. These funds
are awarded to public school graduates with a GPA o f
3.0 or higher to attend the Bermuda College tuition -
free. This programme was introduced for the first time in September 2019. At that time, 26 students took advantage and enrolled in the Bermuda College, with
tuition and cost of books fully covered. In September
2020 enrolment had more than doubled, as 70 public
school students now receive the benefit of the Bermu-da College Promise programme.
Mr. Chairman, $1,425,000 has been set aside
in business unit 26090 for the administ ration of the
Ministry’s annual Scholarship and Awards pro-gramme. The Minis try will continue to support students in their pursuit of tertiary -level education. As
such, the total budgeted for scholarships and rewards
remains the same.
Mr. Chairman, due to the impact of the pandemic last year, the Ministry extended the deadline fo r
the submission of scholarship applications. The Ministry developed a student survey which confirmed our
expectations that students’ abilities to submit their ap-plications in a tim ely manner have been directly impacted by the pandemic. The information gat hered
also helped the Ministry understand how students were affected so that we could better understand the
specific challenges that students were facing. This
was especially true o f senior school students, who are
studying remotely and who could not rely on school
computers and scanners to complete their application. Therefore, the Ministry provided more time for current
and prospective students to send in their applications.
The ex tended deadline afforded a total of 498 student
application submissions. This reflected an increase of
109 applications compared to the 389 received last
year.
The Ministry of Education funded seven Bermuda Government scholarships comprising new and exist ing scholarships, a total of seven non- traditional
student awards, five teacher education scholarships
and 54 further education awards. The Minister’s
Awards comprised five Minister’s Achievement Scholarships, one Merit Scholarship, one Applied Tech Scholarship, five Exceptional Student Awards, five
Technical and Vocational Award s and six Bermuda
College Book Awards.
The number of further education awards to
students based strictly on their financial need increased from 38 to 54. The Minister’s Achievement Scholarship for a graduating student from CedarBridge Academy and a graduating student from the Berkeley Institute pursuing overseas post -secondary
study decreased to five, and one student postponed their study. The Minister’s Technical and Vocational Awards for graduating public school students or recent public school alumni at tending Bermuda College
and who are pursuing local or post -secondary studies
were sustained at five awards. Lastly, the Ministry’s
Exceptional Student Awards for graduating students
or school leavers with disabilities pursuing local or
overseas post -second ary education also remained the
same as last year, with six awards.
Mr. Chairman, the $1,425,000 budgeted for
Scholarships and Awards during the 2021/22 fiscal
year will be once ag ain used to reach as many students as possible and afford them the opportunity to
pursue both local and overseas post -secondary programmes of study.
Mr. Chairman, on page B -136, the subjective
analysis of current account estimates is shown for the
Minist ry of Education Headquarters. Line 1, Salaries,
stands at $590,000 and show s a marginal decrease of
$16,000 when compared 2020/21. The decrease re-flects the 10 per cent austerity measures for four
months, from April to July 2021, to support the Government ’s austerity measure agreement with the union. The travel expenditure line i tem of $13,000 decreased by $8,000. Expenditure for communications remained the same. Monies budgeted on Advertising
and Promotion increased by $13,000 to heighten the
promotion of the Ministry ’s Scholarships and Awards
programme and education reform, part icularly the restructuring from a three- tiered to a two -tiered system
and the introduction of signature schools.
Mr. Chairman, $1,617,000 has been budgeted
for Professional Services, a minimal increase of
$10,000. These monies have been allocated to con-tinue the implementation of education reform. A total
of $741,000 has been budgeted for the hiring of the
consulting firm Innovation Unit, which will provide the Ministry with change management consultancy services for the continuation of the Learning First programme. The amount of $376,000 will suppo rt work
being led by the Minist ry’s Governance Team, as
School Design Teams will be developed in preparation for the implementation of signature schools, while
the remainder of the money, $500,000, has been set
aside for local professional services related to system
redesign restructuring , boards and committee fees,
and legal services.
Mr. Chairman, the execution of the transformative work of the education reform aligns directly with
strategies outlined in Plan 2022. This work is ensuring
college and career readiness, including the implementation of special school designs to meet unique student needs and interests. Addit ionally, we will prepare
for the establishment of signature schools in specialised areas such as tourism, finance, business and the


Bermuda House of Assembly trades —all of which reflects the projected workforce
needs of the country.
Mr. Chairman, the amount budgeted for Rentals (a nd the next line of expenditures) increased by
$1,000. The majority of this expenditure will be used
for the rental of halls to hold meetings with stakeholder groups and the general public, as there will be significant engagement and complete transparency during the school redesign and restructuring consultancy.
All meetings will be held within the stipulated safety
and health protocols.
Mr. Chairman, line item Materials and Supplies increased by $7,000, while the budget for line
[item], for Other Expenses , which covers food and
drinks, remained the same. The last line item in the
subjective analysi s, Grants and Contributions, was
allocated a budget of $1,848,000 for the budget year
2021/22. This allocation decreased by $370,000, directly reflecting a deduc tion in grant money allocated
for external organisations in alignment with the
COVID -19 savings programme. The full breakdown of
the $1,848,000 budgeted for Grants and Contributions
can be found on page C -18 of the Budget Book.
Mr. Chairman, on page B -136, the number of
full-time equivalents for employees in the Ministry of
Education Headquarters remained the same as last
year at six. Mr. Chairman, finally on page B -137, Performance Measures for the Ministry Headquarters are
outlined. The target outcomes for last year were either
achieved or in the process of being completed by the
end of March thi s year.
Mr. Chairman, the Ministry team comprises
the Permanent Secretary, our Senior Policy Analyst,
the Ministry Comptroller, the Scholarship and Awards
Progr amme Manager, the Administrative Assistant
and Accounts Officer, and the Executive Assistant to
the Minister and Permanent Secretary. All have provided me with sustained technical advice and administrative support, and I continue to be thankful to have a
team of professionals who have persevered through
challenges to deliver the Ministry’s mandate and in all
circumstances have remained focused on providing
support for the Ministry to deliver the changes required in the best interests of Bermuda’s children.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. This concludes my
presentation of the budget on the Ministry of Educa-tion Headquarters, Head 16.

HEAD 17 —DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, I now present the budget for Head 17.
Mr. Chairman, the vi sion of the Department of
Education, as outlined on page B -138, is “to see all
students educated to lead personally and profession-ally, contribute locally and compete globally.” Our vision for Bermuda’s children will be achieved through
the implementation of the Bermuda Public School
System’s mission. And that is “to provide all students with equitable access to holistic and high- quality instruction which is culturally relevant and empowers
students to reach their full potential.”
Mr. Chairman, we know unequivocally that it
is the quality of teaching and learning which takes place in the classrooms of our public schools each
day that will enable our student to acquire the skills,
knowledge and values and dispositions that will prepare them to compete with t heir peers locally as well
as globally, and will enable them to become the future
leaders and c ontributing citizens of our Island and the
world.
Mr. Chairman, our mission and vision are the
driving forces for executing the transformation and technical str ategies included in Plan 2022, our strategic plan for improving the Bermuda Public Education
System. As technical officers at the Department of
Education and staff in our public schools implement
these strategies of Plan 2022, we are confident that
we will (1) increase academic rigour and student engagement; (2) ensure career, college and workforce
readiness; (3) enhance the quality of teacher practice
and system leadership; (4) improve infrastructure and
instructional resources; and (5) ensure system success.
Mr. Chairman, we are also confident that the
long-term strategies of this strategic plan, once executed, will transform public school education in Bermuda and ultimately lead to greater success for our
students. This is what the work of education refo rm is
about, execution of the long -term strategies of Plan
2022. The Learning First programme i s executing on
priority 1, Strategy 1.1.4.1, specialised schools (now
referred to as signature schools). The school consultative process for the introduction of parish primary
schools is focusing on priority 4, Strategy 4.6.3, renovation, rebuilding and/or consolidating school facilities.
And the Education Act Amendment Bill is executing
on priority 5, Strategy 5.3.5, review of the current
school structure.
Mr. C hairman, page B -141 shows that a total
of $105,592,000 has been allocated to the Department of Education for the fiscal year 2021/22. This is
$8,189,000 less than what was allocated in the 2020/21 fiscal year. Two significant factors have contributed to th is decrease. In order to meet our revised
budget ceiling, a total of 67 previously vacant and
funded posts have been defunded at a total of
$5,014,000. The other contributing factor is the 10 per
cent austerity measure reduction in salaries agreed to
by th e various unions that resulted in the remaining
$3,175,000. The declines in each of the departm ent
business units are reflective of the impact of these two
factors.
Mr. Chairman, the Department of Education
staff continue to execute of the strategies for Plan
2022, and specific strategies are tied directly to their
performance appraisal objectives. This is aligned to
Strategy 5.1.5, which states that we must (quote) “en698 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly sure the strategic plan’s measures of success and
operational plans are clear, measured and used for
accountability” and Strategy 5.3.3.2, which requires
the department to (quote) “fo cus on accountability by
outlining delivery plans with clear timelines and identification of persons responsible.”
Mr. Chairman, the department is in the process of preparing the Plan 2022 Annual Report for the
2020/21 fiscal year. This report will capture the pro-gress of both 2019/20 and 2020/21 as the data for the
year 2019/20 was impacted by the COVID -19 pandemic.
Mr. Chairman, I will now move on to highlig ht
the expenditures of each business unit that falls under Head 17, commencing on page B -139.

Programme 1701—Central Administration

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, I will begin
with the analysis of Central Administration. This includes the costs of salaries for the administrative personnel and system leaders who function to lead, support, monitor and audit the work that takes place in the
Department of Education and in our schools.
Mr. Chairman, monies budgeted for the upcoming year for bu siness unit 27000, General Administration, will cover the costs for inventory purchases of educational and office supplies for the school year.
There is an additional $88,000 budgeted in expenditure for the fiscal year to cover COVID -19-related expenses. M r. Chairman, the Department of Education
has over the last year made safety and health in our
public school system an even higher priority, given the
COVID -19 pandemic. All schools were deep cleaned
in August 2020. And this has continued at designated times throughout the school year, in addition to their
daily cleaning routine carried out each day, using
EPA- approved supplies as outlined by the Department
of Health. Prior to the opening of schools all school
tanks were chlorinated to ensure that the water supply
was safe for drinking and handwashing. Safety and
health signs were designed, printed and pos ted
throughout school buildings as reminders to all staff and students to follow safety protocols and to maintain
the six feet for physical distancing.
Mr. Chairman, custodians have also been
provided with EPA -approved cleaning, sanitising and
disinfectant supplies and personal protection equipment to carry out the new cleaning regimes as developed by the Department of Health. Additionally, all
schools and s chool staff continue to be provided with
hand sanitiser, disinfectant and sanitising wipes, and
gloves. Each staff member was also provided with
disposable masks, cloth masks and a non- disposable
transparent mask. Staff who require additional personal protective equipment (or PPE) to carry out their
work responsibilities continue to be provided with no n -
disposable and disposable gowns and aprons. Mr. Chairman, last year I stated that the
Stores team would ensure that all purchasing of in-ventory would conti nue to be purposeful and we will
obtain value for money spent. To facilitate this, Sto res requested input from schools to improve the standard -
isation of inventory for school supplies purchased to
have quick turnover of inventory and a lower chance
of having obsolete items. Mr. Chairman, I also stated
that the Facilities and Stores Sections will work together to ensure consistency with cleaning supplies
ordered to ensure that control of inventory quantity is
maintained and that facilities would also add to t heir
monthly inspection of schools the status of supplies,
to prevent stockpiling.
Mr. Chairman, further to my last point, to help
with the prevention of stockpiling, Stores has worked with Facilities in regard to how often orders of the
same item are placed. This was communicated to Facilities for their monthly inspection. Also, Stores has
set minimal re-order quantities on products based on
movement of a product and lead time, from the product’s being ordered to its being received. This is a critical eff iciency which has knock -on-effect benefits for
safety and health, and also cleanliness of schools.
The Commissioner of Education has also worked with
Stores in approving the orders placed by schools for
PPE supplies. The Stores team also carried out a
succ essful count of inventory for the 2019/20 fiscal
year, and the inventory count for the 2020/21 year will
take place between March 26 and 31, 2021.
Mr. Chairman, with school safety and health
as a priority, the Stores team has ensured the timely
procurement and distribution of PPE and cleaning
supplies at schools during the 2021/22 fiscal year.
Stores wi ll continue to focus on the efficient management of inventory and delivering supplies ordered to
schools in five days or less.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27001 holds the
budget for the Office of the Commissioner and pri-marily funds the salaries of the Co mmissioner of Education and two direct reports, the Director of Academics and the Director of Educational Standards and Accountability. The Commissioner of Education and direct reports are responsible for the strategic planning; overseeing, monitoring and auditing of the work of
staff; and holding staff at the department and in
schools accountable for carrying out their duties and
responsibilities. They are also responsible for collecting data and reporting on the performance metrics set
out for Plan 2022, the department and our schools.
Mr. Chairman, last year the department added
the services of a communications consultant who provides communications servic es for the department
and schools. Mr. Chairman, the hiring of the communications consultant is in d irect response to Plan 2022
Strategy 5.3.1, which mandates that we (quote)
“strengthen external communication and increase
high- quality communication and public relations to all
stakeholders.”


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, between February 2020 and
February 2021, there w ere a number of noteworthy
achievements for the department as it relates to
communications. The Scoop newsletter was established to provide parents and guar dians with first -hand
timely information from the Commissioner’s Office. There have been 29 mailings , reaching approximately
3,600 recipients per mailing. Mr. Chairman, a BPPS
Electronic Family Feedback Form was established to
enable families, staff and co mmunity to submit suggestions, complaints, questions or kudos directly to
the Commissioner’s Office. Mr. Chairman, there have
been 248 entries as of the end of February 2021, with
29.0 per cent questions, 21.5 per cent comments,
21.0 per cent sugges tions, 16.0 per cent kudos and
4.9 per cent complaints. Responses were provided to
each sender within 48 ho urs of their submission the
majority of the time.
Mr. Chairman, the Bermuda Public Schools
Facebook page was re- invigorated over the past year.
Facebook gr oups were established for families by
school level, and we can report in January 2020 we
had a Faceb ook post reach of zero. As of January
2021, we had a Facebook post reach of 11,335. Further, Mr. Chairman, a YouTube channel has been set
up for Bermuda Pub lic Schools to encourage the
community to have additional access to information
and programming abou t the public education system
in Bermuda.
Mr. Chairman, several communications strategies were executed during the onset of the pandemic. While schools wer e operating remotely during the
months leading up to the re- opening of Bermuda public schools, a COV ID-19 crisis communication plan
was developed and implemented when schools were operating remotely, and a COVID -19 re- opening plan
was developed and implemented to inform families in
advance of school re- opening.
Written communication was provided to parents and guardians. In addition to this, Mr. Chairman,
17 Zoom town hall meetings were held with parents
and guardians and staff prior to the re- opening of
schools to provide critical information and, more importantly to afford them the opportunity to have their
questions answered by the Department of Health and
Education technical officers. These sessions also enabled parents, guardians, students and staff to discuss their anxieties, fear and hopes directly with decision-makers at the Department of Educatio n and the
Department of Health.
Further, Mr. Chairman, three panel discussions on re- opening schools responsibly were held to
give families, staff and the community an opportunity
to scrutinise the plans for re- opening. Insights from
these town hall meeti ngs and panel discussions were
used to fine- tune plans for re- opening. Once schools
re-opened, 15 post -re-opening check -in Zoom town
hall meetings were held with parents, guardians, students and staff to gain further insights into the experi-ences, percepti ons and anxieties of students and
families about in- person schooling. To collection additional data, a post -re-opening survey was conducted
to provide furth er insight with in- person schooling, and
the data were shared during the town hall sessions.
During the year the department has launched
a livestream series called The Conversation featuring
BPPS professionals discussing their work. And this
year, as a fi rst, schools at all levels held virtual open
house events to register for 2021. Significant strides
were made for the area of communication to key
stakeholders.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27030, Human
Resources has been allocated a total of $491,000.
The re-allocation of posts and salaries for two Human
Resources managers and two administrative assistants have been transferred to the new Department of
Employee Organisation Development [DEOD]. These
four staff will join the DEOD team as of April the 1
st,
2021, as part of centralising government’s human resource services. This shift accounts for the reduc tion
of $608,000. The Human Resource Section continues
to fund the salaries of technical and administrative
staff, and expenses to advertise and recruit staff and
money for annual long -service awards for teachers.
Mr. Chairman, in 2021/22 funding for busi ness
unit 27031, Staff Development, decreased from the previous year’s budget to $672,000. The funds will be
used to fund training and professional developm ent
arising from Plan 2022 and school improvement
plans. The training is necessary to enhance the sk ills
and competencies of our teachers, educational staff,
student leaders and Department of Education staff.
The Department of Education has provided extens ive
ongoing professional development sessions for our
staff in our schools throughout the course of the
2020/21 year to expand their knowledge and skills.
With overall coordination of staff development ses-sions led by the Acting Staff Development Officer, a
myriad of professional development sessions for
BPSS teachers and special ist staff were held in September and October 2020, and January and February
2021.
Some of the sessions were mandatory to ensure staff were on the same page regarding the public
education system’s priorities. However, there were
also options for teachers to self -select or particip ate in
self-paced training. Sessions offered were aligned
with the tenet s and practices of standards -based
grading. Subject -specific or job -specific profess ional
development was also provided, along with the opportunities to acquire and deepen technology s kills and
learn how to use various technological applications.
Given the impact of the pandemic on school staff,
workshops also included sessions facilitate d by the
Employee Assistance Programme.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27090, Educational Standards and Accountability, has oversight of
our 18 primary schools, four middle schools, two sen700 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ior secondary schools and one special school . This
team comprises thr ee assistant directors who supervise school principals to ensure effective leadership,
quality teaching, quality services, and quality programmes in our schools. The work carried out by the
assistant directors is essential for the growth and development of school leaders and for overall school
and systemwide improvement.
Mr. Chairman, during the 2019/20 school year
the Assistant Directors were responsible for conducting principal evaluations using the McREL Principal
Evaluation Tool. Principal midyear evaluations were
completed with fidelity. However, due to COVID -19
regulations, the timeline for completing the final evaluations was impacted. The goals for the evaluation
were rolled over from the 2019/20 school year to the
2020/21 school year. And feedback to principals using
a standardised form has been executed.
Mr. Chairman, the Teacher Performance
Evaluation programme (TPEP) for term one of the
2020/21 year was concluded with fidelity with minor
adjustments to compliance timelines due to COVID -19
regul ations. Again, feedback to principals using a
standardised form was implemented for all teacher evaluations. Mr. Chairman, the standardised form
capture key indicators of the evaluation standards and
protocols. These are also aligned with ESA performance m easures. These two achievements support
the area of action in Plan 2022 priority 3, strengthening ed ucator evaluation and performance management. This priority also aligns directly with the Government’s Education Platform, which makes an une-quivocal commit ment to improving accountability in
education.
Mr. Chairman, the new school improvement
plan (SIP) format that was implemented last year continues to be actioned by our school leaders from the
preschool to the senior level. In essence, SIPs are
strategic plans for schools. The high- leverage design
feature of the improvement plan has a focus on intentional adult action and the impact on student gain.
When developing the plan with stakeholders, principals develop theory -of-action statements to guide
them in achieving their identified targets and goals.
The Assistant Directors of ESA provide feedback to principals using a standardised form. And monthly
monitoring checks are conducted to ensure the action
items are progressing according to what is outlined in
the school improvement plan.
Mr. Chairman, the school improvement plan
methodology requires principa ls to report on student
gains at three intervals in the academic year so that
the Department of Education can monitor student per-formance and gains over tim e and determine progress
with key performance measures. Due to COVID -19,
schools engaged in remote l earning last year, and as
a result data could not be collected from March 2020
to June 2020. This impacted the reporting of our student gains. However, data for September 2020 through December 2020 were collected. The ESA
Section monitors the data and prov ides feedback to
principals during the monthly contact visit. The first
opportunity to report out on student gains will be April
2021.
Mr. Chairman, Educational Standards and
Accountability (ESA) has used the school im provement platform to connect the wor k of principals as
leaders in managing change in their buildings with
developing a purposeful community to achieve goals,
and to focus on the work that matters most for students. These three areas provide the parameters for
professional development that support the school improvement plan in a meaningful way. Principals and
deputy principals have been provided with professional learning opportunities and coaching as required to
support their work in school improvement, teacher
performance evaluations, stand ards-based grading,
COVID -19 safety and health protocols, and remote
learning.
Mr. Chairman, the school improvement plans
continued implementation in September 2020. Principals worked with their leadership teams to develop
school improvement goals for the academic year. This
achievement is connected to the area of action in priority 3 of Plan 2022, professional learning and supports. The school improvem ent plan requires principals to support the delivery of customised professional
learning for teachers in support of the goals identified
in their school’s improvement plan.
Principals, in collaboration with Education officers, delivered site- based profess ional development
in the following areas: writing proficiency, mathematics, reading, research- based instr uctional strategies,
and innovation. This also connected to the Government’s Education Platform and their commitment to
ensure professional development for teachers to improve learning outcomes for students.
Mr. Chairman, the ESA Assistant Directors
played a significant role in helping close the school
facilities in June 2020 in preparation for the school
facilities to re -open in September 2020. School inspections were carried out on a continuous basis to ensure that the environments remained clutter -free,
clean and safe to occupy in accordance with the Department of Health COVID -19 safety and health protocols. This section also worked closely with the D epartment of Health to development the COVID -19
safety and health protocols and helped facilitate remote professional development with all school staff
prior to the opening of schools. This included sharing
and responding to questions on the new COVID -19
safety and health protocols.
Mr. Chairman, all school staff received professional development in mental health wellness from
EAP. Between May 2020 and February 2021, EAP
facilitated a total of 26 sessions with school staf f. Ad -
ditional sessions were held with school staff impacted
by COVID -19 developments that unfortunately ocBermuda House of Assembly curred in November and December 2020. The ESA
Assistant Directors assisted with the protocols and
operational procedures when positive COVID -19 patients were identified in school s. They also assisted
with closing schools during the spike in COVID -19
cases and with parent and teacher notifi cations for
quarantine. The ESA Section facilitated the arrange-ments for schools to complete virtual open houses f o r
incoming students along wit h the transition to remote
learning during term one.
Mr. Chairman, during the 2021/22 fiscal year,
this business unit, comprising three assistant directors
of ESA, have as their priorities to increase the quality
of school improvement plans, to improve t he quality of
teacher evaluations, to monitor data submission and
data collection processes, and to provide feed back to
principals on their performance.
Mr. Chairman, our mentor teachers are supervised by one of the assistant directors. The mentors have w orked hard to support our first - and second-year inductees (otherwise known as new teachers). And the mentors’ p riorities during the 2020/21
school year were as follows:
1. Implement the revised mentor programme
requirements. These include reflective subm issions,
demonstrated proficiency in high- level research- based
pedagogical practices and digital professional po rtfolios.
2. Provide professional development to inductees based on individual and collective needs for
workshops in the tenets of standards -based grading,
formative assessments, designing assessments
aligned with proficiency scales and using the Danielso n Framework as a tool of self -reflection.
3. Facilitate standards -based grading workshops for support of systemwide professional development.
The mentor teacher priorities for 2021/22 will
be as follows: 1) further revised implementation of the
new BTIP [Bermuda Teacher Induction Programme]
requirements; 2) provide professional development o n
ques tion formulation techniques, meta- cognitive strategy, data collection which informs instruction and
high- leverage strategies for student engagement; and
3) facilitate standards -based grading wor kshops in
support of systemwide professional development.
Mr. Chairman, last year I reported that the
Bermuda College would provide a Principal Certification programme through its partnership with Framing-ham State Universi ty. Mr. Chairman, this is linked to
Plan 2022’s area of action, Enhanced Educator Certification in priority 3, and supports priority 3.5. There is
also support of the Government’s Education Platform
and the commitment to ensure professional development to improve learning outcomes for students. I also
reported last year that the agreement required a minimum of 10 cohorts. And as I said at that tim e, there
were seven. Mr. Chairman, the Graduate Certificate programme in Educational Leadership started on Octo-ber 12, 2020, and the number of applicants has increased to 13. The cohort of 13 educators includes teachers, year -level heads, mentor teachers, deputy
principals, acting principals and the Department of
Education officers.
Mr. Chairman, at the end of the sixth week of
the first course, the department received the following feedback about this cohort: (and I quote) “What a
strong, competent, eager, passionate and joyful group
of education leaders! In all the years I have been
teaching, I have never worked with such a group. If
they are indicative of educational leaders in Bermuda,
then the rest of the world should be taking notice. In
this course, Supervision and Staff Development, we
are focusing on bringing 21
st century knowledge and
tools to the professi on. Every person in this course
has added greatly to the overall knowledge base. The
sense of community created within the group has given rise to sharing at a depth generally not found so
quickly. I love how much they love their country and feel a tremend ous sense of responsibility to push
themselves to becoming even more effective educational leaders.”
Mr. Chairman, these educators are equipping
themselves to lead within the system in the future. I
applaud their dedication and determination to perform
with excellence, and I wish all of them continued success with the programme.
Mr. Chairman, the funds allocated to this unit
have decreased over 2020/21, totalling $611,000.
Mr. Chairman, the 2020/21 budget for business unit 27095, Attendance, was transfer red into
business unit 27090 to fund the salaries of four school 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 children in all p ublic schools. The coordinator also carries
out a review of the registration process each year and ensures impro vements in the process for the following
year, through consultation with department and school
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.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance officers prepare
monthly reports on student attendance and teacher
attendance submissions 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. Mr. Chairman,
monthly reporting has increased school accountability,
and timeliness and accuracy of attendance submissions.
702 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairma n, the attendance officers are
required to adhere to the Health Department’s
COVID -19 protocols, and this resulted in reduced visibility in scho ols; however, attendance officers are accessible via Zoom, email and telephone calls to address attendance queri es and concerns. The aim of
ensuring that attendance data were accurate, reliable
and timely remains at the forefront of their daily responsibil ities.
Mr. Chairman, COVID -19 resulted in the implementation of new attendance codes and a determi-nation of student attendance in the virtual classroom.
The accuracy in recording attendance was paramount
to ensure that we assisted in maintaining a safe envi-ronment when schools transitioned back to in- person
teaching and learning. Mr. Chairman, the attendance
offic e rs monitored the various sick codes and quarantine timeframes closely.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance team maintains
a listing of students with c hronic [absences] , and their
communication and collaboration with the schools has
increased to combat chronic ab sences. Additionally,
this team is working with the Bermuda Police Service
Task Team in identifying the reasons for absences in
an effort to red uce chronic student absences in alignment with Plan 2022, key out come 1- 8 and in support
of the department's per formance measures for attendance for schools.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance officers were
responsible for ensuring that every parent had a Pow-erSchool Parent Portal account that could be used to
keep parents informed of their student's attendance,
grades, and report cards. As of January 2021, a full
90 per cent of parents had a parent portal account, up
from 79 per cent in November 2020. And 20 out of 34
schools have 90 [per cent] to 100 per cent of their
parents with parent portal accounts. We expect all
schools to reach the target of having 100 per cent of
their parents and guardians with [parent] portal accounts.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance and registration
coordinator launched for the first time the online reg is-tration of both new and returning students in February
2021. As expected, there were a few glitches with the
implementation of the new system. However, these
were quickly addressed with a resolution. On the
whole, the responses from the public and educators to
reach this milestone of an online reg istration have
been well received. The online registration moves the
public school system from the traditional paper -based
labour -intensive regi stration process to a 21st century,
highly efficient process that provides a better way to manage enrolment, transfers and withdrawals.
Mr. Chairman, the attendance team will continue to fulfil their role to ensure that students attend
school on a daily b asis. They will also improve the
communication between parents and schools so that
the attendance codes are corr ect. Additionally, in cases when a student will no longer attend a public school they will improve efficiency in ensuring that
parents can provi de the correct documentation to
withdraw the student in a timely manner, using the
newly released online returni ng student application.
Mr. Chairman, we must ensure that quality
teaching/learning experiences and services take place
when teachers or other school staff are sick or on
leave. The funds allocated for business unit 27160,
Substitutes, has increased by $378,000.
Mr. Chairman, the overall budget for the Central Administration programme is $4,214,000 for the 2021/22 fiscal year, which is lower than the previous
year’s budget due primarily to the reallocation of human resource services.

Programme 1702—Stude nt Services

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, Programme
1702, Student Services, facilitates the provision of 13
essential programmes that directly provide services to
meet the diverse needs of our students who have
been identified as having exceptio nalities. Business
unit 27061, Behaviour Management, funds behaviour
therapists for preschool and primary schools, as well
as one education officer for behaviour management.
In addition, the funding covers our two Alternative Education programmes, which facilitate suitable alternative education environments and services for students
with behavioural challenges. The 2021/22 budget fo r
this business unit will decrease by $221,000 due to
two positions being reallocated to business units
27160, Substitutes, and 27063, School Psychology.
Mr. Chairman, the Success Academy Heron
Bay [SAHB], the alternative support programme, serviced six primary school students up to June 2020.
Currently, the programme services four primary -aged
students with the goal of assisting them in acquiring
replacement behaviours for complete reintegration
back into the mainstream classroom environment.
Mr. Ch airman, Success Academy Roberts
Avenue [SARA], the alternative support programme
for middle and senior level students, supported 13
students up until June 2020. Currently, SARA services
thirteen male [students], nine of whom are senior school students and four of whom are middle school
students. The goal is to re- integrate students back into
their mainstream middle school environment, to transition students to senior school or to retain students at
SARA to complete the GED or Penn Foster programme.
Educati onal 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 students in our
schools who have behavioural challenges. These
supports ra nge from classroom monitoring and consultation to caseload admission, as well as
• daily tracking schedules;


Bermuda House of Assembly • developing individual cri sis management
plans;
• implementing behaviour intervention strategies; and
• developing functional behaviour plans and
behaviour intervention plans.
Mr. Chairman, partnerships have been
strengthened with supporting agencies s uch as the
Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS), Child and Adolescent Services (CAS), Probation Services and the Department of Health. One example of
this is reflected in the monthly meetings of the High
Risk Intervention Committee (THRIC) where mutual
clients and their specific unique needs are discussed
and support is actioned. Through the 2020/21 school
year, ETs have been participating in functio nal behaviour assessment [FBA] and behaviour intervention
plan [BIP] specialist training through individualised
professional develop ment.
It is clear that families experienced and coped
with the effects of COVID -19, including remote learning, in a myriad of ways. ETs and ETAs helped families navigate these difficulties. While schools were
operating remotely due to the pandemic, ETs and ETAs supported families with academic work packet
deliveries, community food voucher connections and
clinical partner serv ices. In addition, they provided
supportive suggestions with families, centred around
schedules and routines. ETs also shared interv ention
strategies and prevention skills with parents and
guardians and emphasised the need to reinforce the
desired behaviours.
Mr. Chairman, for the 2021/22 year ETs and
ETAs will increase the level of support they provide to the classroom teachers and w ill work to improve planning and monitoring of student progress. This will be
accomplished by creating collaborative intervention plans, tracking replacement behaviours and sharing
success with stakeholders, using MTSS (which refers
to the multi -tiered sys tem of supports) process. They
will utilise a whole -child lens and integrate academics
and behaviour. The implementation of a technological
support system that is data driven will support this
collaboration and problem -solving among the MTSS
team.
Mr. Cha irman, business unit 27063 includes
our school psychologists, who support administrators
and address student needs for 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.
Mr. Chairman, school psychologists are engaged in and are a valuable resource for schools in relation to the MTSS process, a Plan 2022 system
priority for Strategy 1.4.6. Through the MTSS process,
a multidisciplinary team discusses the needs of our
students and suggest s interventions and resources to address concerns. The school psychologists, as participants in the MTSS team, collaborate to ensure that
students have support which includes resources from
within the public school system and the wider community. Recommend ations are made through consultation within the MTSS framework, and recommendations are also made utilising the data derived from
psychoeducational assessments conducted by the
school psychologists.
Mr. Chairman, while schools were implementing remote learning during the first four months of the
pandemic, our school psychologists developed protocols for the provision of services to st udents. These
services were provided according to Health Department’s best practice guidelines. School psychology
practices were also aligned with the mandates advised by psychological associations and regulatory
bodies regarding COVID -19 protocols.
The s chool psychologists researched and
compiled itemised costs for various models (tradition-al, hybrid and telehealth) to effect ively accomplish
their service work during the pandemic. Each of these
models progressively required more technology in order to ope rate more efficiently under COVID -19
health and safety constraints. During the 2021/22 fiscal year, the school psychologists will further integrate
technology into psychoeducational assessments. As a
matter of priority in the upcoming year, school psycholo gists will continue to manage their assessment
referrals and provide consultation to the school staff to
ensure the delivery of services prior to and after psychoeducational assessments have been carried out.
Mr. Chairman, the 2021/22 budget for school psychologists decreased by $29,000.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27064, the Adaptive Physical Education [APE] Programme, is a d evelopmentally appropriate physical education programme
delivered by three specialist teachers. These teachers
provide services to s tudents with diverse physical
needs by providing the adaptive support necessary to
enable students to be included in the reg ular physical
education programme. Mr. Chairman, for clarity, the
adaptive physical education lessons are implemented
on an individual basis, in small groups, and within the regular physical education classroom setting. Mr.
Chairman, students receiving adaptive physical education services also have individualised education
plans (or IEPs) with goals and objectives which are in
line wit h the regular physical education curriculum.
Mr. Chairman, this specialist team organises
the Department of Education Adapt ive Physical Education National Track and Field Invitational. This Invitational includes students from P1 to S4 who have
special phy sical needs and who receive adaptive
physical education services, as well as individuals
who have transitioned out of the Bermuda Public
School System and who are presently at the K. Margaret Carter Centre and other facilities. The mechanisms to facilitate the Adaptive Physical Education
704 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly National Track and Field Invitational were in place
prior to the mandated lockdown due to C OVID -19.
As a result of the regulations, the event was
cancelled. The Adaptive PE division is looking forward
to re -introducing the event to students with students
from P1 to S4 and to other entities servicing the special needs community. The event will b e held at a time
when it is conducive to the safety of all involved and in
compliance with the Health Department’s safety and
health regulations.
Due to the COVID -19 pandemic the Adaptive
PE Team's ability to work on expanding community partnerships was l imited. However, a continuing partnership with the National Stadium was further established ensuring plans to hold the Adaptive PE N ational
Track and Field Invitational. Utilising the National Stadium facilities for training opportunities for special
needs students has also previously been facilitated;
however, it was not possible during this school year
due to COVID -19.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27065 is the
Deaf and Hard of Hearing programme, which employs teachers who provide students with academic instruction. They also collaborate with classroom teachers to
ensure that teaching and learning are effective, and
that student needs are met during instruction in the
regular classroom. The $295,000 budgeted for this
business unit are for salaries, disabili ty-specific resources and materials, hearing aids and equipment,
professional development and consultant audiology
services.
Mr. Ch airman, teachers of the deaf and hard
of hearing are preparing for the expansion of the
teaching of sign language at the mid dle and senior
[school] levels. Teachers are also designating time to
collaborate with paraprofessionals before and after
sessions a re held with students, and to educate administrative staff on the specific needs of students who are deaf or hard of hearing . Mr. Chairman, it is
these teachers who made a recommendation to supply staff with transparent masks. Resultantly, transparent mask s, with the sponsorship of the Department
of Health, have been provided to every school staff from the preschool level to the senior school level,
including at Success Academy [Roberts Avenue] and
DAME.
Mr. Chairman, these teachers also facilitated
a comm unications workshop for occupational therapists (OTs), physical therapists (PTs) and speech -
language pathologists (SLPs) for their clients who are
deaf or hard of hearing. The session focused on using gestures and basic sign language connected to their
fields. The teachers have also participated in standards-based grading professional development to remain abreast of schoolwide curriculum expectations.
Mr. Chairman, line item 27066, the Vision
business unit, has been allocated a budget of
$100,000. Student s with visual impairments have
unique educational needs. In order to meet their unique educational needs, students must have specialised services, books and materials in appropriate
media (including braille). Students also need specialised equipment and technology to ensure equal access to the core and specialised curricula, and to en-able them to effectively function alongside their peers
in school and ultimately in society. The vision programme has maintained a good working relationship
with our community partner Vision Bermuda. Our students benefit from lessons conducted in their transition programme in preparing for life post -senior
school. These lessons enable our students to use the
many IT components and manual tools that are a necessity for their lear ning.
Presently, there is one vision teacher for the
public school system who supports 13 students who have visual impairments. The teacher, in addition to
her duties, provides professional development to
school staff and paraprofessionals who work direct ly
with students. The paraprofessionals have completed
additional braille courses and trainings to ensure they
are equipped to meet the needs of our students.
Mr. Chairman, the business unit 27071, Office
Support, serves as the Secretariat for the Student
Services Section and funds the salaries of the Assistant Director of Student Services, one administrative
[assistant] and s ix learning support teachers who provide services to students with special needs. There is
a decrease of $179,000.
Mr. Chairman, the Counselling Programme,
business unit 27072, is a comprehensive, develop-mental school counselling programme (CDSCP)
based o n an international model, with four components: (1) classroom guidance/core curriculum;
(2) individual planning; (3) responsive serv ices; and
(4) system support. More specifically, school -based
counselling programmes provide early intervention, crisis inte rvention and prevention, treatment, and
promotion of positive social and emotional development. Mr. Chairman, this business unit funds the salary of an Education Officer for Counselling, 25 counsel-lors who service the preschools and primary schools,
and 10 at the middle school level; and one Alternative
School Counsellor. This unit has decreased in budgeted funds of $245,000.
Mr. Chai rman, school counsellors comprise a
group of dedicated professionals who coordinate their services with school teams and com munity partners.
With parental permission, school counsellors consult
with community mental health service providers to
coordinate r esponsive and community services. The
Education Officer for Counselling meets with school counsellors, school teams, CAS, DC FS, the Department of Court Services and the Department of Health
representatives throughout the school year to coordinate services for high -risk students.
Mr. Chairman, school counsellors are required
to facilitate individual academic and career planning
meetings for students in P5, M2, S1 and S4. However,


Bermuda House of Assembly the pandemic and resulting school building closures
impacted the ability of sc hool counsellors to compl ete
the individual planning meetings during the 2019/20
school year. These have been recommenced for the
2020/21 school year. Mr. Chairman, the Education
Officer for Counselling identified the following top
three priorities for 2020/21:
1. Continue to uti lise information from student
surveys and feedback from school counsellors to im-prove programme delivery and enhance students’
feelings of safety and trust (ali gned to Plan 2022 key
outcome 1- 10). Prior to school closures, students from
one middle school w ere surveyed. A summary of
feedback reported that students expressed that they were comfortable meeting with their school counsellors; that the school counsellors helped them to understand topics like bullying, peer pressure and co nflict resolution; and that they felt respected and listened to when they talked with the school counsellors.
School counsellors were given opportunities during
group supervision meetings to provide feedback and
peer support for enhanced programme delivery .
2. Continue to develop success criteria for
classroom guidance learning intentions (aligned with Plan 2022 adapted Strategy 1.1.3). The success criteria guide was completed along with the creation of
success criteria for all standardised lessons.
3. As sess whether the updates to the P5 and
[M2] individual planning meeting forms, specifically the inclusion of values clarification and career invento -
ries, sufficiently assisted students with preparing for
their future careers (in alignment with Plan 2022 ad aptive Strategies 2.12.4 and 2.12.5). Positive feedback
was received from parents and students pertaining to
the addition of exploration of values and review o f the informal career assessment. Students appreciated the
opportunity to have discussions around values and
[the connecti on] to future careers.
Mr. Chairman, starting in March 2020,
throughout remote learning and upon the return to
school buildings, school counsellors formally and informally surveyed students’ adjustment to the various
changes and m onitored feelings of safety and academic engagement. Simultaneously, the Education
Officer for Counselling monitored the school counsellors’ well- being and adjustment by conducting supervision meetings via Zoom and telephone during the
work -from -home perio d, focusing on self -care and
peer support.
Mr. Chairman, school counsellors were definitively all in for all students throughout remote learning
and school breaks by securing and delivering technology devices, advocating for access to Wi -Fi, and deliverin g groceries and grocery v ouchers to families. In
August 2020 the Education Officer for Counselling
created a guidance document for the delivery of
school counselling services during remote and hybrid
learning to assist the school counsellors with planning
their programme delivery for the 2020/21 school year. Additionally, the Education Officer for Counselling
continued to promote a focus on positive coping skills by encouraging school counsellors to highlight October 5 through 9, 2020, as Mental Health Awar eness
Week. During this w eek guidance lessons and activities stressed the importance of implementing appropriate coping skills when dealing with life challenges.
Mr. Chairman, the Education Officer for
Counselling will continue to monitor completion of P5, M2, S1 and S4 individual planning meetings by school
counsellors and will review student responses to determine the achievement of the pre- set student outcome —that all P5, M2, S1 and S4 BPSS students will
answer the response page of their educational
plans—indicating how the ind ividual planning meeting
helped them plan for potential future careers. The officer will review all counselling intervention plans to
determine achievement of the student outcome that all
BPSS students who have a counselling interv ention
plan will show pro gress towards their goals by the end
of four counselling sessions. The officer will provide professional development training and clinical supervision sessions for school counsellors, focusing on tier 2 school counselling intervent ions for anxiety and
child traumatic stress.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27072 funds the
salary of an Education Officer for Counselling; 25
counsellors who service preschools and primary
schools, and 10 at the middle school level; and one
alternative prog ramme counsellor. This unit has decreased in budgeted funds of $245,000.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27074, Learning
Support, funds two Education Officers for Special Ed -
ucation and Learning Support, in addition to 37 learning support teachers who provide special education
service s to our preschool, primary and middle
schools; for Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy; and for our trauma responsive programmes at our primary
and middle and senior Success Academies. This
funding also includes assessment materials needed to
ensure proper di agnosis of students with special education needs. This business unit decreased by
$307,000.
During the school year, the learning support
officers have been committed to ensuring that quality
services and professional development have been
provided for lea rning support staff. Due to COVID -19,
the termly audits of individual education plans’ [IEP]
implementation and documentation were not able to
continue. However, at the start of the new school year
professional development has cont inued to ensure
that the school team process is in alignment with the response to intervention process [RTI], a component
of the MTSS framework.
Mr. Chairman, learning support teachers have
been provided with ongoing professional training on the school team process, pre -referral intervention process, IEP learning and audits, intervention learning
plans (ILPs), dyslexia, ADHD and identifying key con706 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly cepts with behaviour. Learning support teachers were
also presented with IEP implementation and documentation methods to accurately col lect data for IEPs
and ILPs. Professional development was provided for school staff in learning styles that focused on the instructional, behavioural and environmental needs of
children.
In September 2020 paraprofessionals participated in a professional d evelopment session for their
job descriptions to ensure better methods of engaging
paraprofessional support to meet student needs.
Under the guidance of the Curriculum and
Assessment Section, Education Officers completed all acces s arrangements and exempt ion requests for
schools for the Cambridge exams. Although the exams were not held in 2020, this process was important to note because it documented for the understanding of schools and the department which students required access arrangements and exempti ons.
Access arrangements may include the provision of
more time for students to conduct exams —for example, students who have dyslexia or ADHD. Exemptions provide that under very limited circumstances,
students by virtue of the part iculars of their exceptio nalities do not have to take exams.
Mr. Chairman, all autism spectrum disorder
(or ASD) learning support primary school teachers
and staff received training in SCERTS (social communications, emotional regulation, transactional support). This involved spec ific tasks that were outlined
by the facilitators that teachers and paras had to implement within their classrooms. These were then recorded, and they received feedback on their performance in subsequent professional development sessions. The learning supp ort officers have the following
priorities for 2 021/22:
1. Move towards having paraprofessionals and
any teacher who is not certified in Applied Behaviour Analysis [ABA] or Registered Behavioural Technician [RBT] to become certified .
2. Train middle and senior s chool staff in
SCERTS and SEEKS (special education for
exceptional kids) for continuity of services .
3. Increase the number of students who move
into general education classrooms .
4. Train and certify staff in non- invasive behaviour con trol once a policy has been created to
guide practice.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27076 was allocated $113,000 and reflects the funding for the salary
of the Education Officer for Early Childhood Education
and an operational budget for the Early Childhoo d
Section.
Mr. Chairman, early years training for P1
teachers has been provided twice a month to equip
teachers with evidenced -based strategies to increase
student engagement [to] facilitate active learning. This
training is designed to help teachers of l ower primary
engage in less didactic forms of teaching and learn-ing. Teachers also learned how to engage in authentic
assessment by using observations of students in more creative exploration during inquiry learning. Teachers
have been exposed to a more pr ogressive, engaging
and p ersonalised approach to teaching and learning
which has opened the teachers up to the possibilities
of what can be achieved through active and inquiry
learning.
In 2021/22 the Creative Curriculum kindergarten curriculum will be introduced in Primary 1 to pro-vide continuity across preschool and P1 and to support high -level inquiry and active learning. Teachers
who participate in professional development will focus on coaching them through this shift to project -based
learning which i s personalised around students’
[needs] and which utilises authentic assessment of learning.
Mr. Chairman, training in SCERTS continues
this year to provide continuity and ongoing progress of the Growing Connections’ preschool children with
ASD and develo pmental delays as they tr ansition into
primary ASD classes and the Functional Skills classes
in September. Additionally, learning support teachers in ASD and Functional Skills class received coaching
on how to engage and support children with challenges wi thin the natural environm ent of their classroom.
During 2021/22, the emphasis will be on increasing
individual teacher support using a model of professional development which involves in- person observation of the teacher by the coach in the natural class
environment.
Mr. Chairman, the budget for business unit
27079 decreased by $356,000 and provides for the delivery of paraprofessional and educational therapist
assistant services for our students who have a diverse
range of learning needs. The paraprofessi onals and
educational therapist assistants provide instructional
support to teaches, ensure protection and safety, and
provide support in transition and life skills for students
with special needs. This includes providing adequate
support for students with physical exceptionalities,
including those who are deaf or hard of hearing, and
those who are visually impaired.
Mr. Chairman, the business unit 27083, Autism Spectrum Disorder (or ASD), funds salaries for
teachers and those paraprofessionals who serve s tudents with autism withi n the ASD programmes at
three primary schools, one middle school and one senior school. The 2021/22 funding of $563,000 also
covers operational costs for equipment repairs,
maintenance and supplies, and professional development.
Mr. Chairman, the business unit 27084, Alternative Education, funds the operation of the Alterna-tive Education Programme and two Success Academies. Funds are also used for Department of Education partner programmes which offer additional alternative program me choices for our students.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, Success Academy Heron Bay
and Success Academy Roberts Avenue provide alternative education programmes for students with additional social -emotional needs and resulting behavioural challenges. In addition to academic programmes and a rang e of services, students also engage in experiential learning activities at WindReach
and Kaleidoscope while following safety and health
regulations. This year, an additional experiential activity, baking, has been added to the Succ ess Academy
Heron Bay schedule; a learning support teacher with
almost 30 years of pedagogical experience has been
assigned to the programme; and three of six students
were successfully reintegrated into mainstream class-rooms. For the year 2021/22, the Suc cess Academy
Heron Bay team will continue with the development of
individualised behaviour support plans with the aim of
increasing the reintegration success rate.
Mr. Chairman, Success Academy Roberts
Avenue made a significant change in their schedule for middle school -aged stud ents in the alternative p ro -
gramme. This assignment was made to facilitate a
more therapeutic approach to addressing the social -
emotional needs of students. The senior level students at Success Academy Roberts Avenue who are
taking the GED programme are suc cessfully navigating the curriculum and experiencing success with
passing components of the GED. This programme
also places a strong emphasis on parent engagement
and as a result boasts high parental engagement in
bi-weekly meeting s with an average of over 90 per
cent for parent attendance.
During 2021/22 a respite approach to addressing students’ needs will be introduced into the
middle school programme. The Success Academy Roberts Avenue team have set a goal for 80 per cent
of th e middle school students in the programme to be
readmitted to mainstream middle school and for 100 per cent of the uprising senior students to graduate in June 2021. We know that each student is
unique and has individual needs. Therefore, these
programmes are critical to the success of students
who are able to thrive if given the right supports and opportunities for pathways appropriate to their needs
and interests.
Mr. Chairman, the Student Services section
provides an extensive range of educational servi ces
for our stud ents with exceptionalities. The total budget
allocation for Programme 1702 for the 2021/22 fiscal
year is $18,990,000.

Programme 1703—Finance and Corporate
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, Finance and
Corporate Services, business unit 27002, funds staff
in the Finance Administration Office with a budget of $609,000. This team includes a Comptroller, Financial
Services Manager, a Payments Supervisor, a Salaries
Supervisor, a Salaries Clerk, three Accounts Clerks and a Messenger. This section is resp onsible for
providing
• financial advice to senior management;
• cost-effective, responsive financial services
supporting Plan 2022 priority number 5;
• procurement and contracting services; and
• corporate planning solutions to management,
employe es and schools.
Under the direction of the department ’s comptroller,
the team coordinates the payment of salaries for ap-proximately [1,000] educators and department staff,
and pays all suppliers and vendors for goods and services purchased, as well as organises the collec tion of
receivables. This section also plays a key role in finding ways to reduce non- instructional costs and identifying cost inefficiencies.
Mr. Chairman, Office Accommodation, business unit 27003, has a budget of $1,169,000. That funds the salary of the office receptionist, annual rent,
office maintenance, electricity and communications
costs for the department’s physical offices on Church
Street.
Business unit 27040, Educational Stores, was
allocated a budget of $698,000, which support s the
salaries f or six staff and other expenditures such as
rent, inventory freight costs, and gas and diesel. The
Stores section provides centralised purchasing, inven-tory management and distribution services for all public schools, the Bermuda College, and other government departments such as the Department of Youth,
Sport and Recreation.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27041, School
Transport, is allocated a budget of $396,000 and
funds the salaries for two bus 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 safety officer . This section
also funds the costs to maintain the department’s mo-tor fleet.
Mr. Chairman, business unit 27042, Building,
Grounds and Equipment is budgeted at $1,216,000. These monies fund the salary of the Facilities Manag-er, who carries out school insp ections and research of
guidelines for providing modern educational facilities, as stated in Plan 2022. This research is critical, as we will be modernising our facilities through education
reform. The remainder of the budget covers the cos t
of minor repai rs and maintenance for facilities at all
educational and administrative sites that fall under the Department of Education. These include pre- schools,
maintained primary and middle schools, DAME, the
Child Development Programme and the Alter native
Education programmes.
Mr. Chairman, during the past year, the Facilities Manager and his team have played a pivotal role
in ensuring schools facilities are clean, safe and oper708 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly ational for staff and students. This team works in concert with the Publ ic Works team, w ho action work orders submitted by our schools. They also supervise
the custodians and cleaners who are responsible for
keeping the physical environment of our schools
clean, sanitised and disinfected. During the summer of
2020, this team w as responsible f or ensuring that
school buildings were prepared for the COVID -19 protocols and regulations.
Mr. Chairman, this team initiated a deep -
cleaning protocol for COVID -19 as developed by
Bermuda Water Consultants. They also worked in concert with the Department of Health to develop a
comprehensive cleaning protocol for schools, which
was used during the COVID -19 pandemic. School
custodians were responsible for the deep cleaning of
school facilities during shelter in place and prior to
schools reop ening in Septemb er 2020. They are also
responsible for deep cleaning the facilities at designated times throughout the year. In addition to the
deep -cleaning protocol, custodians are required to
carry out a daily cleaning regime to reduce the transmission of COVID -19.
Prior to schools opening in September 2020,
custodians attended a workshop to review the expectations for the revised cleaning regime. At the end of
the workshop the custodians were given an assessment to determine their level of knowledge of the protocols. They participated in a second workshop in October 2020 to review once again the expectations for the [daily] cleaning regime. These sessions were co -
facilitated by technical officers from the Department o f
Health and Department of Education. With the assistance of the Department of Workforce Development
and the Bermuda Industrial Union [BIU], daytime cleaners were hired in September 2020 to ensure
cleaning and sanitising at the pre- schools and Success Academy Roberts Avenue.
Mr. Chairman, i n light of the C OVID -19 pandemic, the number of school building inspections that
take place have increased significantly. Now three
levels of inspections occur across our schools on a
weekly and monthly basis. School principals and preschool administrator s conduct monthl y inspections
using a standardised form that they upload as evidence of fulfilling this responsibility. The Safety and
Transport Officer conducts weekly inspections across
schools, using a standardised form which is provided
to school leade rs and custodians. These forms are
also uploaded as evidence of fulfilling this responsibility. The Facilities Manager conducts ongoing, random
inspections of school facilities along with a technical
officer from the Department of Health. These inspec-tions are comprehensi ve inspections which provide
detailed feedback against a specific standard, and
again these forms are uploaded as evidence of fulfilling this responsibility.
Mr. Chairman, in cases when a school has
had a COVID -19 development, the Faciliti es Manager secur ed external cleaners to supplement the custodians’ work, using specialised techniques intended spe-cifically when an exposure of COVID -19 has been
confirmed. The schools are then inspected by the Fa-cilities Manager and a Department of Health representative before school staff and students are given
clearance to reoccupy the building. The department
communicated to parents, students and staff that
safety and health was a priority, and all of these efforts speak to honouring that commitment.
Mr. Chairman, the final business unit 27050,
Information Technology, is funded $2,385,000. This business unit funds the salaries of an IT Manager, a
Computer Services Officer, a Management Systems
Officer, and Technical and Assistant Technical Officers.
Mr. Chairman, ther e were a number of notable
achievements for the IT Section last year. All public pre, primary and middle schools, Success Academy,
Dame Marjorie Bean Hope Academy, the Child Development Programme (CDP) and the Department of
Education Stores and Data Centre are now all connected via a local fibre optic network as part of our
strategic initiative to centralise the IT infrastructure.
The fibre optic network is configured to provide a minimum of 70 megabits -per-second data speeds to all
location s. The existing enterprise firewalls were upgraded to accommodate a full digital learning platfo rm and a fully mobile workforce. COVID -19 accelerated
this adaptation of the new firewalls, which have the
capacity to accommodate virtual private networks
[VPN s] for all staff and teachers if required.
Mr. Chairman, Wi -Fi was upgraded and configured in all pre- schools and primary schools. A total
of 120 Wi -Fi access points were installed across all
public pre -schools, primary schools, Success Academy and CDP to extend the wireless signal throughout
all buildings. The IT Section configured more than 450 laptops and distributed them in the school user community in the leadup to the initial COVID -19 lockdown.
Laptop donations were from PwC (87 laptops), Athene
Berm uda (200 laptops ), and AXIS Capital (14 laptops). The department also purchased 120 laptops. All
laptops were used by teachers. The department also received donations of Chromebook devices for students, which include 50 Chromebooks from Lighthouse Connect, 25 Chromebooks from Sandy’s Small
Business and 1,350 devices from Hasso Plattner
Foundation, which are expected on Island within the
month.
Mr. Chairman, the IT Section assisted with the
implementation and rollout of the Schoology (online
learning system ). The PowerSchool Schoology Platform was purchased in May 2020 as a direct response
to the COVID -19 pandemic and school closures to
enable remote learning within the BPSS. Configuration, implementation, training and rollout took place
over t he summer 2020 school break and the first quarter of the 2020/21 school year.


Bermuda House of Assembly Mr. Chairman, Schoology and Google Workspace sessions are now a regular offering in scheduled professional development days alongside standards-based grading offerings. These sessions are
generally well received by teachers, who genuinely
want to leverage technology as part of their regular
teaching practice. However, without more devices
available to students, it makes implementing what
they have learned in the workshops challenging.
Mr. Cha irman, the IT Section facilitated a
Google Chromebook pilot at P6 Somerset Primary and P4 Gilbert Institute this school year. The in- class
and remote instruction pilot started November 2020,
using Chromebook student devices, Schoology, Pow-erSchool, DreamBo x and Zoom. The pilot at Somerset
Primary is fully implemented, where the P6 class has
been provided with one- to-one student devices. Usage data within our learning management platform
Schoology showed a seven- day total of 91 student
sessions and 10 teacher sessions.
Over the same timeframe, the Island -wide
public school system total use was [262] student sessions and 221 teacher sessions. Considering most
schools cannot use their computer labs due to social
distancing protocols, this was a positive trend. With
access to the devices, we will definitely see more daily
usage of Schoology by our students.
Mr. Chairman, major enhancements and improvements were also made to the telephone network, which included the installation and configuration of
additional hardware and software for High Availability
and failover Voice Over IP [VoIP] services. Voicemail software upgrades and additional session initiation
protocol [SIP] circuits have been installed within the
Data Centre to establish a solid plat form to launch
new and additional SIP VoIP Services for operational
cost savings and efficiency.
Mr. Chairman, the IT Section supported all
Ministry and department staff with IT services during
the COVID -19 shut down. They also supported
schools by collec ting learning p ackets from all public
schools to deliver to the general post office for distri-bution to students who did not have a computer device. The COVID -19 pandemic highlighted the need to
have a flexible and mobile workforce that is able to
adapt to changing world events. The department’s IT
Section have issued laptops to mobile staff, who are
now able to [virtually] roam from school to school and
to sign into the network via Wi -Fi to access applications and data. They have also implemented the basic
foundation and framework to add additional mobile IT
services to cater to a mobile workforce.
Mr. Chairman, the IT Section has a number of
priorities for 2021/22. The COVID -19 pandemic highlighted and accelerated the requirement for 24/7
availability of digital instruc tion and online learning.
YouTube and other online services have always been
used within lesson plans to reinforce classroom instruction. However, since the pandemic online learn-ing has seen a dramatic rise. Therefore, the public
school syst em must mature all processes around
online learning and instruction to keep pace with global IT educational shifts and also continue to educate
Bermuda’s children.
Mr. Chairman, the department will implement
steps to fast -track the total adaptation and full integration of all purchased PowerSchool application modules. Training and internal business processes will
also be amended to work with and enforce the PowerSchool data. The IT Section will start the journey of
retooling staff to transform from break/f ix tasks to
providing education solutions and systems support.
This includes helping users to complete tasks or to
reach objectives, versus fixing a reported problem.
IT technicians must also understand how the
user is applying technology to achieve an ed ucation
goal. T he objective is to issue a device to every public
school student. This will start with the Chromebooks
being distributed at the P6 level in accordance with
lessons learned from the pilot conducted with P6 and
P4 [teachers] previously mentioned. The departm ent
also plans to provide all staff with devices.
Now that the major infrastructure projects are
complete, the service delivery and service desk processes require maturing. This also includes the introduction of additional monitoring and al erting tools to
manage and monitor IT services. As part of the internal audit findings, an enterprise backup system is required by the department. This has been further highlighted by the new fibre optic network with the ability
to back up over the faster networks, but also a recovery plan if there is a network failure. The enterprise
backup solution will comprise of a part of the disaster
recovery plan.
Mr. Chairman, in summary, the Finance and
Corporate Section provides key services and support to our pu blic schools an d has been allocated a total o f
$6,473,000.

Programme 1704—Pre -Schools
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, I now turn to
page B -140, item line 1704, which is the programme
for our 10 pre -schools. The 2021/22 budget for preschools is $4 ,361,000. Ninet y per cent of the preschool budget funds salaries, and 10 per cent of the
budget is used for resources, training and develop-ment, and operational costs such as electricity, part -
time cleaners, phones, office equipment rental and
drinking water.
Mr. Chair man, intensive professional development was held for pre- school leaders and teachers
during the 2019/20 school year. This training was de-signed to ensure integration of the inquiry model of
teaching and learning with the Creative Curriculum.
The goal has b een to increase continuity between
how we teach, what we teach and the assessment of what is learned. The aim is to increase continuity
across pre -schools to meet system standards in
710 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly teaching and support accurate data collection of authentic assessment of pre-schoolers.
During the 2020/21 school year the department met the high expectations for system continuity
and fidelity in delivery of the curriculum and the assessment of pre- schooler learning with high support to
pre-school leaders and teachers. Signi ficant investment in professional development in the use of Teach-ing Strategies Gold, an online platform for planning,
documentation, assessment and communication internally and with parents and guardians.
The result is that we are utilising the data to
inform teaching with personalised approaches and
record consistent progress across the domains of de-velopment. We are now able to use the data to report
out on individual pre- schoolers, classes, pre -schools
and on all 10 pre- schools. We have three fixed checkpoints; however, data can be reported on at any point in the pre- schooler’s educational experiences at preschool.
Bermuda public school pre -schools have
earned Teaching Strategies Gold’s Ambassador status recognition because of their com mitment to improving outcomes for children through professional
development for pre -school leaders and teachers. In
addition, children are screened at entry using the BRIGANCE Screen to help identify any children with
potential delays and those who may req uire enrichment . The pre- school curricula are supplemented by
the Heggerty programme lessons for phonological awareness. Phonological awareness is one of the
best early predictors of later reading success. This programme helps children develop strong awareness
to support later reading learning and success.
Mr. Chairman, during the pandemic while preschools operated remotely, pre -school staff were responsive to the needs of pre- schoolers and their families. Pre -school teams provided learning packets initially to all stud ents during shelter in place. Then,
based on the families’ resources, they provided a mix
of online engagement and learning experiences with
learning packets that were delivered to the homes of
pre-schoolers.
The most important achievement was staying
connected with our pre- school students through whatever means possible to give support and maintain caring relationships during the challenges presented by
the pandemic, especially during shelter in place.
Our Teaching Strategies Gold platform made
it easy t o transition to remote learning, as the family
link is designed to increase home and school communication. This includes supporting families with practical at -home family -friendly activities which enrich their
child’s learning around their c hild’s personal ised learning objectives. Our team approach to working with
children and families was augmented by school supports such as learning support teachers and educational therapists. Mr. Chairman, another online resource which
we had access to was ReadyRosie, o ffering parents
short, simple ideas of activities to do with their children, which included stories and music. The overall
achievement was responsiveness to families with pre-schoolers as we helped them help their children to
continue learni ng at home.
Mr. Chairman, early -years training for P1
teachers was provided twice a month to give teachers
evidenced -based strategies to increase student engagement and active learning. This training was designed to help teachers of lower primary year lev els
engage in l ess didactic forms of teaching and learning. Additionally, they learned how to engage in authentic assessment, using observation of students in
more creative exploration and inquiry learning.
Teachers have been consistently exposed to
a mor e progressive, engaging, personalised approach
to teaching and learning. This training has strengthened the practical application of teachers of young
children in active learning and inquiry learning.
During 2021/22 the Creative Curriculum kindergarten curriculum will b e introduced in P1. This will
provide increased continuity across pre- school and P1
to support high -quality inquiry and active learning.
Teachers will participate in professional development
to coach them through this change to project -based
learning, whic h is personalised around student needs.
Authentic assessment will document personalised learning with intentional teaching deeper learning.
Mr. Chairman, our pre- schoolers are growing
up in a world of technology, with technology literally a t
their fingert ips. One priority is to make available tablets or iPads for pre -schoolers to use at school and at
home while reinforcing responsible and developmentally appropriate use of such technology in accordance with best practice standards for safety and
health of young children. This includes limited time
use.
Another priority at the pre- school level is to
increase fidelity in using the Teaching Strategies Gold
online platform with the Creative Curriculum.
Other priorities include additional profes sional
developm ent on the following:
• curriculum and assessment;
• data collection and decision- making for
teachers and pre- school leaders;
• documenting the cultural connection to Bermuda and being intentionally culturally responsive to our children and families;
• introducing the Little Pim foreign language
programme;
• engaging with community partners to support
learning in pre- school; and
• Bright Start pre -school classes for three- yearolds in two additional pre -schools.




Bermuda House of Assembly Programme 1705—Primar y Schools

Hon. Diallo V. S. Raba in: Mr. Chairman, programme
1705, Primary Schools, has a budget allocation of $26,888,000. Primary schools had the following targets as their priorities during 2020/21, and they are
expected to continue with these priorities into the new
fiscal year 2021/22:

All righ t. Thank you. I know you are
well versed. I am just letting the public know.
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I
am minded by your guidance.
Primary schools had the following targets as their
priorities du ring 2020/21, and they are expect ed to
continue with these priorities into the new fiscal year
2021/22:
• improving math proficiency as measured by
the common summative assessment administered in June 2021;
• improving writing proficiency as measured by
the wr iting prompt assessment administered
in June 2021;
• improving the number of students reading on or above grade level as measured by Fountas
and Pinnell and the Gates -MacGinitie ;
• improving the use of research- based instructional strategies as per Marzano by teachers
by June 2021;
• improving the focus of professional learning
communities within each school by June 2021;
• increasing and improving the focus of sitebased professional development by June
2021;
• continued implementation of standards -based
grading; and
• ensuring all staff adhere to the COVID -19
safety and health protocols developed in col-laboration with the Department of Health.

Programme 1706—Special Schools

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, Programme
1706, business unit 27120, Dame Marjorie Bean Hope
Academy (or DAME), provid es dedicated services to
students who have severe to profound [and] multiple
challenges and therefore require special needs. The main focus of the programme at DAME is to provide
students with enriching education and developmental
support, to increase stud ent independence and to
help them achieve their ultimate potential. The dedi-cated principal and staff at DAME are able to achieve this programme outcome by implementing a comprehensive curriculum which is focused on developing
receptive and expressive comm unication skills; functional literacy and mathematics skills; activities of daily
living; social skills development; behaviour interventions; pre -vocational and vocational skills; community -
based instruction; and art, recreation and leisure
skills.
In ess ence, the programme at DAME, like at
all other schools, focuses on the whole child.
The principal and staff at DAME have focused
on the following prioritie s during the current school
year:
1. increasing student communication with the
use of communication dev ices;
2. training the entire staff to become Registered
Behaviour Technicians so they can appropriately manage difficult behaviours; and
3. focusing instruction o n develop ing language.
Mr. Chairman, technical officers of the department have already seen first -hand the gains that
students are making in developing their communication skills, and I am also pleased to report that some
staff have successfully completed the Registered Behaviour Technician training. This business unit will be
funded with a budget of $583,000.
.
Programme 1707—Middle Schools

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Mr. Chairman, we now turn
to page B -141, line item Programme 1707, our middle
schools. Si milar to the primary schools and in alignment with school improvement plan targeted areas,
middle sc hools are focusing efforts on improving math
and writing proficiency, increasing the number of students reading at grade level, improving the use of researc h-based instructional strategies, improving the
focus of professional learning communities, continui ng
with the implementation of standards -based grading,
and ensuring adherence to the health and safety protocols.
Mr. Chairman, the total 2021/22 budget al location for our four middle schools is $14,777,000.

Programme 1708—Senior Schools
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: And this will be the last
section I read, Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Chairman, Programme 1708 refers to our
two senior schools, CedarBridge Academy and t he
Berkeley Institute. Each senior school is provided with
an annual grant for the operational manag ement of
their respective school and the school curriculum.
Students at the senior level continue to benefit from
712 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly diverse local and international curricula and programmes which prepare them for post -secondary education, training and careers. Students also have the
opportunity to take advance- level courses and to participate in the dual enrolment programmes at the
Bermuda College.
For fiscal year 2021/22, the CedarBridge
Academy’s funding decreased by $339,000. This de-crease was a result of the CedarBridge Board creating
operational efficiencies that has resulted in their
2021/22 grant request lower than the previous year.
These funds will support school redesign and system
transformation.
And with that, Mr. Chairman, I will pause for
lunch and continue aft er lunch.

So, good afternoon, Members.
We are now in the resumption of the Committee of Supply for furt her consideration of the Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the year
2021/22. And we are discussing Heads 16, 17, 18 and
41 which will continue in debate.
I now call on the Minister in charge to proceed.
Minister, you have the floor.
Hon. Diallo V . S. Rabain: Thank you, Madam Chairman, and it so wonderful to see you on this beautiful Wednesday afternoon.

Programme 1709—Curriculum Assessment

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I will
continue where I ended, and that is with programme 1709, C urriculum Assessment.
Madam Chairman, programme 1709, Curriculum Assessment, funds the Cambridge International
Curriculum, City & Guilds, and related initiatives; salaries of subject -specific Education Officers for Curriculum and Assessment; and the Career Pathways pro-gramme. The department pays an annual fee to Cambridge International for the curriculum and for P6 and
M3 students to sit the annual Checkpoint and S2 stu-dents to sit the IGCSE examinations, which are required to obtain the Bermuda school dip loma.
Madam Chairman, the department is in its
ninth year of implementing the Cambridge International Exams at P6, M3 and S2. The examinations are
funded from business unit 27020, Assessments and
Evaluation. The Cambridge and City & Guilds exams
were not administered during the 2019/20 school year
due to COVID -19 and, like other students worldwide,
students received assessed grades.
Significant attention was given to mathematics
over the past year, in particular:
• An Acting Educational Officer for Mathemati cs
joined the Curriculum and Assessment Team
in September 2020;
• Schools were given clear expectations for
Math instruction;
• Principals conducted walk -through observations to collect data on teacher practices and
student learning, although the extent of thi s
process was limited due to COVID.
• Clear targets were set for the use of DreamBox (an online math application intervention
tool) for in and out of school.
• And the services of Primal Academic Innovations Ltd. (PAI) were used as a mathematics
intervention p rogramme.
Madam Chairman, business unit 27520, Design, Development and Implementation funds salaries
for seven education of ficers who are responsible for
ensuring the effective delivery and ongoing development of the Cambridge Curriculum in the core and
non-core subjects, school examinations, the Career
Pathways Programme, and all other curricula.
During the year, selected of ficers and school
staff focused on the refinement of primary and mid d le
music, primary and middle social studies, and primary
and mid dle reading curricula assessments.
The Curriculum Assessment programme 1709
has been allocated a budget of $2,138,000 for the
continued delivery of these educational programmes
and services.


Bermuda House of Assembly Programme 1712—Early Childhood Education

Hon. Diallo V. S. Raba in: Madam Chairman, the final
programme on page B -141 is 1712, Early Childhood
Education. This programme co mprises of the Child
Development Programme and the After School Care
sub-programmes. Early childhood education represents the foundation for student success at the primary, middle, and senior levels.
Business unit 27175, the Child Development
Programme (C DP), currently funds the salaries of the
dedicated CDP staff and programmes. The team
works diligently to maintain their accreditation status
and eng ages in quarterly performance quality improvement sessions.
During the 2020/21 year, CDP was granted
Bermud a National Standards Committee (BNSC)
Maintenance of Accreditation through the dedication
of the CDP team to early intervention and support of
families with young children. The Screening and Assessment team was able to meet their two -year
screening target for the fiscal year and the CDP Coordinator position was filled in February 2021.
Madam Chairman, the CDP staff provide remote services such as scre enings, consultations, developmental monitoring, parent education and coach-ing during shelter in place and the subsequent months
while schools operated remotely.
Shelter in place followed by the implementation of safety and health protocols closed CDP off from in -person contact with families. Personal contact
is the way in which the main form of service is offered
to children and families, either in homes or at CDP.
CDP staff were not deterred, and they maintained
contact and support to families throughout the pandemic using a variety of mediums, such as phone,
video conferencing, and social media. CDP’s Facebook page and Instagram account also provided cred -
ible information and practical solutions to often overwhelmed parents. Books and toys used for parent
coaching sessions were delivered to homes by dropping them off outside of clients’ residences. The sessions were then supported through Zoom or other
means.
Developmental screenings continued
throughout the pandemic via phone interviews and
video conferencing. As developmental assessments
could not be conducted in person, the Child Psychologist conducted observa tions and developmental
screenings, also utilising video conferencing.
Madam Chairman, there were a number of
parents seeking help with their chi ld’s behaviour, including concerns regarding potty training and sleep.
CDP was able to assist parents with these concerns
through consultations, including recommendations
and personalised support. Additionally, with many
parents having to work from home while also assisting
with schooling, CDP provided support and guidance
with concrete examples of how to schedul e their day or talk to their children about the pandemic. Once
safety and health precautions were relaxed, CDP staff met with children and families in parks, playgrounds
and out in the yards of families. CDP has worked with the Department of Health to safely reopen services for young children and their families.
The priority for 2021/22 is for CDP to be positioned to fulfil its vital role of providin g wrap -around
parent education and support to families with children
who have not yet started school. CDP wil l continue to
provide early intervention services to support best
outcomes for children and families by building strong
foundations for growth and development.
Madam Chairman, the final line item on page
B-141 is business unit 27700, After School Care,
which funds the wages of part -time employees who
provide supervision and organised activities to children at four preschools and one school for childr en
with special needs. The funds for the after school care
are utilised to offer after school care for 80 students in
four preschools and for the students at DAME [Marjorie Bean Hope Academy].
In summary, the continued delivery of services for programme 1712 for the fiscal year 2021/22 has been allocated a total budget of $1,397,000.

Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I now
refer you to page B -142, the Subjective Analysis of
Current Account Estimates for the Department of Education. This page provides an aggregate of the detailed line item expenditures prev iously mentioned.
The variances of significance for the categories are as follows:
1. salaries and wages decreased by $7,883,000
(or 11 per cent) and $154,000 (or 4 per cent)
respectively; mainly due to the defunding of
posts and the 10 per cent reduction aus terity
measures agreed to by the unions;
2. training costs are negligibly $1,000 (or 1 per
cent) lower, while Transport decreased by
$1,000 (or 1 per cent) due to reduction in
transportation costs involved in shipping of inventory;
3. travel costs remained const ant;
4. Communication costs decreased by $2,000 in part reflecting the completion of a number of
projects linked to Information Technology
Support;
5. rental costs increased by $30,000 due the set -
up of an Education Reform Office, while Re-pair and Maintenance co sts increased by
$168,000 due to COVID -19-related expenses;
6. energy costs increased slightly by $5,000
mainly reflecting an increase in electricity
costs;
7. material and supplies are $90,000 higher as a
result of COVID -19 expenses; and
714 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly 8. grants and contributions decreased by
$441,000 and these funds have been reallocated to support the school redesign and system transformation work.

Employee Numbers—Full -Time Equivalents

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, pages
B-143 and B -144 show that there are 1,034 full -time
equivalent posts, a net change of 67 compared with the 1,101 measured in the original 2020/21 budget.
The department will continue to monitor and review
the number of full -time equivalents ensuring both efficiency and effectiveness of staff resources.

Performance Measures

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, pages
B-145 to B -148 list the Performance Measures for the
Department of Education. These measures reflect the
priority areas that 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 Commission of Education and all
other staff in the Department of Education, our teachers, principals, administrators, and all other educators
and support staff for their commitment to our child ren.
As we move forward with executing Plan 2022 strategies that are aligned with school and system redesign,
I expect to see more noticeable improvements in the
quality of education and the serv ices we provide to
Bermuda’s children.
Madam Chairman, this concludes my presentation on Head 17, Department of Education. And I now move to the budget estimates for Head 18.

HEAD 18 —LIBRARIES AND ARCHIVES

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, Head
18 comprises of the Department of Libraries and Archives.
Libraries and Archives preserves and facilitates access to Bermuda’s printed historical record s,
cultural works, and the Government’s administrative
records. The department encourages lifelong lear ning
by dispensing educational and recreational resources ,
and are committed to providing for the present and future needs of our community.
Madam Chair man, the 2021/22 Estimates of
Expenditure and Revenue for the Department of Li-braries and Archives can be found on pages B -149
through B -153 in the Budget Book. The department’s
Mission Statement and objectives are stated on page B-149 along with the gener al summary of its expenditures.
Madam Chairman, the 2021/22 budget allocation the Department of [Libraries and] Archives is set at $2,975,000. This is a decrease of $277,000 and it
reflects COVID -19 savings.
Madam Chairman, the 2021/22 budget allocation for business unit 28000, Collection Management,
of $450,000 represents a decrease of $32,000 when compared with the 2021 original budget. This decrease represents an allocation of money to other
business units to supplement salaries due to regrading of pos itions following the merging of the departments of Libraries and Archives. Full -time equivalents
for this business unit are four employees, as shown on page B -151.
Madam Chairman, the 2021/22 budget allocation for Adult Services, business unit 28060, is
$489,000, a decrease of $89,000 from the 2020/21
budget allocation. The full -time equivalents for this
business unit are six employees, as shown on page B-151.
Madam Chairman, page B -149 shows a
2021/22 budget allocation for business unit 28100 Archival Services of $372,000, a decrease of $23,000
in expenditure level over 2020/21. The full -time equivalents for this business unit are four, as shown on
page B -152.
Madam Chairman, business unit 28110,
Youth Services includes programmes catering to
youth which continue to be popular with families and
children younger than age 14. The 2021/22 budget is
$438,000, an increase of $2,000 when compared to
the budget allocation of 2020/21. The full -time equivalents for this business unit are four, as shown on pag e
B-152 [sic].

Thank you.

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, business unit 28120, Record Management Services, totaled $617,000. This reflects a decrease of $206,000
when compared to the 2020/21 budget allocation. The
Government Record Centre, located in Southside, St.
David’s, provides for Government’s non- current records. The full -time equivalents for this business unit
are four, as shown on page B -151.
Madam Chairman, the last line item in the
general summary table on page B -149, is $609,000
for business unit 28130 [Administration]. This reflects an increase of $71,000 more than the 2020/21 allocation. The full -time eq uivalent count for this business
unit is four employees, as shown on [page] B -151.






Bermuda House of Assembly Subjective Analysis for Current Account
Estimates

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, I now
present the Subjective Analysis of the Current Account Estimates for the Department of Libraries and
Archives, as found on page B -150.
Salary -related expenses show a decrease of
$65,000 reflecting the 10 per cent austerity measure
reduction in salaries. The decrease in funding allocated for rentals of $212,000 reflect COVID savings impact. Funding in the o ther current account areas remained the same as in 2020/21.
Madam Chairman, page B -151 shows that the
full-time equivalent count for the Department of Libraries and Archives will be 26 employees for the upcom-ing fiscal year [ 2021/22]. The staff are all Bermudian
professionals.
Madam Chairman, the operations of the Department of Libraries and Archives are not a major
source of revenue for the Government. Fees are
charged for the duplication of archival materials, b o o k
fines, l ibrary programme fees, computer fees and photocopy charges, and the revenue generated is minimal. As a result of the closures due to the pandemic,
the revised 2020/21 revenue total is estimated to be
only $4,000. However, with the upcoming fiscal year
2021/22, revenue is anticipated to return to normal
and increase to $16,000, as stated on page B -150.
Madam Chairman, the Performance
Measures for the Department of Libraries and Archives are listed on pages B -152 and B -153 showing
the actual outcomes for fis cal year 2019/20, the original and revised forecasts for fiscal year 2020/21, and
the target outcomes for 2021/22.
Madam Chairman, due to the pandemic, library staff had to adapt very quickly to working from
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 c all, email or WhatsApp their b ook requests. Staff put together and packaged the
book requests for curb side collection. Library
members were provided a pick -up time to collect their books.
• Virtual Programmes. The Library’s normal inhouse events were re- designed as Webinars.
For exampl e, the Youth Library STEAM Club
was virtual. The Library prepared Grab & Go
Kits that contained supplies needed for activities. These kits were collected from the Youth
Library. Zoom invites and/or YouTube links
were then emai led to children to engage in
presentations. Scheduled speakers presented
on various STEAM topics and provided their workshops to children virtually. • The Annual Seniors’ Tea. Instead of [the Tea,]
the Youth Library’s Teen Advisory Board
Members (TAB) delive red “Love Boxes” to
120 gratef ul seniors.
Madam Chairman, all of these services continue to be popular now that the Library has resumed
its opening schedule. However, the STEAM Club is
back to meeting in the Library with the speaker’s
presentations provided virtually.
Madam Chairman, d igitisation has continued
to be one of the Library’s main objectives. During the past fiscal year [2020/21], eight years of the Royal
Gazette newspapers, from January 1954 to December
1962 were digitised from microfilm copies. The proposed digitisation tar get for next fiscal year 2021/22,
is for four years of the Royal Gazette newspaper from
January 1963 to December 1966.
Researchers using both the Library and the
Archives digitised collections have found the service invaluabl e. During the closure of the Library and Archives, staff were still able to assist researchers. For
example, staff at the Archives and the Government
Record Centre provided critical assistance 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 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 yo u 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.”
• Another quote: “I want to report my admir ation
of the National Library' s digitalised newspap er
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 provide materials for the recreational and
educational needs of our community; and, to preserve
the essential administrative records for 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 2021/22 budget for Head 18, Department of
Libraries and Archives. I will now move to Head 41,
Bermuda Co llege.

HEAD 41 —BERMUDA COLLEGE
Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, although the 2020/21 fiscal year has been a challenging
716 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly one as a result of the pandemic, I am pleased to report that Bermuda College has adapted well in its vision, transforming liv es through innovative education.
Bermuda College deepened its purpose and took on
new meaning as it continued to provide the community with innovative programmes, training, support services and access to partnerships leading to local and
global success. As the only post -secondary institutio n
on the Island, Bermuda College realises it has and will
continue to play a significant role in Bermuda’s economic recovery and growth agenda of the Government.
Madam Chairman, as found on page B -154,
the College receiv es an annual grant from the Ministry
of Education and the allocation for the financial year
2021/22 is $15,383,000 which is $523,000 less than
what it received during fiscal year 2020/21.
Madam Chairman, Dr. Duranda Greene is the
President of the Bermuda C ollege 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. Branwyn Smith- King; and
• Mrs. Charmaine Tucker.
Ex-officio Members are:
• The Hon. K. H. Randolph Horton (Chairman of
the Honorary Fellows);
• Mrs. Valerie Robinson- James ( Permanent
Secretary for Education);
• Mr. Romeo Ruddock (Support Staff Representative);
• Miss Tylasha DeSilva (Student Representative); and
• Ms. Necheeka Trott (Faculty Representative).
Madam Chairman, Bermuda College, is an
accredited institution with the New England Commission on Higher Education and 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 g lobe a significant portion
of this p ast fiscal year at Bermuda College has been
spent dealing with the coronavirus pandemic. One of
the many highlights for the College during the past
year 2020/21, was its ability to pivot at short notice to
remote teaching and learning, while ensuring that the
needs of its students continued to be met. Madam Chairman, in support of Bermuda’s
rich oceanic history, in fall 2020, the College intro-duced its new Associate of Science (Marine Science)
programme. It also introduce d French to its course
offerings. In spring 2021, in partnership with Millersville University, the College offered a Colonial Latin American history course taught by Bermudian, Dr.
Clarence Maxwell. It also offered a Special Topics
Insurance course entitled “Foundations of Bermuda’s
Internat ional Re/Insurance Sector” in partnership with
the Association of Bermuda Insurers and Reinsurers
(ABIR) and St. John’s University’s Maurice R. Greenberg School of Risk Management Insurance & Actuarial Science.
New offe rings offered by the Professional an d
Continuing Education (PACE) Division included: the Certified Online Instructor, the Art of DJ’ing, and certifications in Coding, Data Analysis, and Google Analytics. In partnership with Framingham State University,
the PACE Division also accepted its fir st cohort of 13
students into the Principal Certification programme.
With a few additional courses, the students can also
earn a Master’s in Educational Leadership.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda College continues to establ ish the National Educators’ Institut e
(NEI) that will provide a centralised entity for the pro-fessional learning and conversations of Bermuda’s
public and private school educators, counsellors and
mentors. The NEI will be an organisation for educators and counsellors of all levels to engage in and
benefit from professional development, research and
social emotional support for professional growth and
ultimately student success. The four tiers of the NEI
are: Pedagogy and Practice, Social Emotional, Research, and the Summer Institute. The Summ er Institute has two programmes attached to it: (1) Brothers
as Scholars for Black Males; and (2) a Social Symposium for educators, counsellors and community members. The NEI Executive Council has been established and the Tier Leaders and members have been
identified.
Madam Chairman, the Dual Enrolment Programme, a partnership between Bermuda College and the Department of Education, continues to be a suc-cess with 48 high school students participating in the
programme in fall 2020. It should also be appreciated
that at its May 2020 Commencement, 17 dual enrolment students graduated from the Bermuda College.
Madam Chairman, as Bermuda College fulfils
its mission of providing its student with access to part-nerships which lead to local and global success, the
ability of its students to transfer their credits to overseas institutions to complete their baccalaureate degrees is key. To continue to support this objective in a
physically distanced environment, Bermuda College
hosted its first virtual Transfer Pathway s College Fair
in partnership with its four -year institution partners.
The College also held a virtual induction ceremony for its third cohort of nine inductees into the


Bermuda House of Assembly Phi Theta Kappa Honour Society in N ovember. The
Bermuda College’s Beta Chi Upsilon Chapter was
also named a 2021 REACH Chapter for excelling in
membership development by the international organisation. This is the second consecutive year that the
Bermuda College Chapter has been recognised with a
REACH award.
Madam Chairman, despite the p andemic,
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 organised throughout the year. This year’s events included
the College’s Annual Science Week ac tivities, renamed Roche Science Week, and a mini -literacy conference on reading. As a result of the pandemic, the
2021 Science Week did not include the usual visits on
campus by hundreds of public and private school students. This year the College provided science kits for
middle school students to use at their respective
schools and hosted a virtual public panel discussion
entitled “Interconnected Wellness Through the Lens of
COVID” by featuring Bermudian scientists —Dr. Sandy
DeSilva, Dr. Shiana Kelly (a B ermuda College alumnus), Dr. Tucker Murphy, Dr. Phillippe Rouja; and Bermuda College’s own economist, Mr. Craig Simmons.
Last November, Bermuda College hosted a
mini-conference on reading and literacy entitled
“Reading Success for Every Child: Teaching Reading
is Rocket Science.” In excess of 200 individuals registered for the event including parents, guardians and
educators. A follow -up event is scheduled for later this
month.
Madam Chairman, in February, the Bermuda
College Company of Honorary Fellows in ducted three
new Fellows including its first posthumous recipient.
The honourees were: Mr. Craig Bridgewater, Dr. Janet
Ferguson and the late great Dr. Eva Hodgson.
All were honoured and celebrated for the significant contributions made to this community and beyond in their respective fields.
Madam Chairman, supporting out put
measures for the College’s activities during this past
year are as follows:
In May 2020, Bermuda College held both a
virtual and drive through graduation as a result of the pandemic. There were 107 students who graduated
with associate degrees, diplomas or certificates. This
January, Bermuda College also held its first Winter
Commencement in nearly a decade, with a live
streamed virtual ceremony where it graduated an additional 32 stud ents with one student earning two associate degrees. The breakdown of graduates by divisions is:
• Arts & Science, 47 Graduates;
• Business, 55 Graduates;
• Hospitality, 9 Graduates;
• Technical Education, 19 Graduates;
• Nursing, 10 Graduates. Madam Chairman, in December 2020, the Division of Professional and Career Education (PACE)
awarded 347 professional designations and workforce
development certificates which included 15 public high
school students who received their Certificate for Nursing Assistants as part o f the Department of Education’s dual enrolment programme at the Bermuda
College.
Madam Chairman, this represents a 155 per
cent increase over last year, with many residents tak-ing advantage of the many online certifications and
courses offered. The awards , representing 29 areas of
specialisation, are as follows:
• American M anagement Association (AMA)
Certificate in General Management, 4;
• AMA Certificate in Human Resources, 4;
• Endeavour Maritime Springboard Programme,
9;
• Certificate in Basic Horticulture (Level 1), 13;
• Certificate in Basic Horticulture (Level 2), 13;
• Internat ional Compliance Association (ICA)
Certificate in Anti -Money Laundering, 1;
• ICA Certificate in Compliance, 2;
• ICA Certificate in Managing Sanctions Risk, 1;
• ICA Certificate in Financial C rime Prevention,
1;
• ICA Advanced Certificate in Managing Fraud,
1;
• Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) Diploma in Financial & Management Accounting (RQF Level 2), 3;
• Certificate in Bartending, 15;
• Certificate for Nursing Assistant, 54;
• Certificate for Nursing Assistants —Bridging,
11;
• City & Guilds Level 2 Diploma in Hairdressing,
6;
• Emergency Medical Technician (EMT), 6;
• Certificate in Compliance KIXKO Orientation, 32;
• KIXKO Risk -Based Assessment, 32;
• KIXKO Customer Due Diligence, 32;
• KIXKO Monitoring & Reporting, 32;
• KIXKO Governance & Oversight, 32;
• LERN Distance [Education] Programme
Bookkeeping Certificate, 10;
• LERN Business Coaching Certificate, 1;
• LERN Certificate in Business Writing, 2;
• LERN Certificate in Data Analysis, 3;
• LERN Cert ificate in Project Management, 1;
• LERN Certificate in Teaching Adul ts, 1;
• LERN Certificate in Web Design, 2;
• LERN Intermediate Excel, 3;
• LERN Keys to Customer Service, 1;
• LERN Management Certificate, 1;
• LERN Supervisory & Leadership Certificate,
4;
718 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly • LERN Ce rtificate in Online Teaching, 1;
• LERN Managing Social Change Certif icate, 1;
• LERN Digital Marketing Certificate, 1;
• LERN Legal Office Administration, 3;
• LERN The Basics of Bookkeeping, 5;
• LERN Time & Productivity Management Certificate, 1;
• LERN Management Boot Camp, 1;
• LERN HTML Fundamentals, 1.
Madam Chairman, in fall 2020 the College enrolled 687 students. This included 35 who had originally planned to go overseas to further their education. There were also 618 students serviced through
PACE during the same period.
As a way of assisting the community to upgrade t heir skills during the pandemic, especially
those who were unemployed, Bermuda College
opened its online training resource, Hoonuit, to the
community at no charge. Between May and September 2020, 629 residents had accessed the training.
Madam Chairman, in 2020 Bermuda College
received $15,906,000) or 79 per cent of its operating
budget from the Bermuda Government grant. Bermu-da College also received a special grant in the amount
of $300,000 to ass ist students in financial need with
their tuition. As a result of this grant, a total of 203
awards, ranging from $139.50 to $5,590, were issued
to students with financial need in both the academic
and PACE divisions during the 2020/21 academic year.
The College also received $125,000 which
was used for training areas where there is a shortage of Bermudians including: nursing, horticulture/landscaping, compliance, and accounting.
Madam Chairman, Bermuda College’s budgeted revenue of $4,307,600 from other s ources included:
• Student tuition and fees for credit courses ;
• PACE revenue;
• Bookstore 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 2020/21 budget year of $20,213,617.
Madam Chairman, during this period, salaries
and benefits accounted for $13,279,736, or 66 per
cent of the budget; this represents a 1 per cent increase in salaries when compared to 2019/20. The College continues to m onitor its salary expense closely whilst balancing its need to provide a quality education to its students.
During the 2020/21 fiscal year the College expended $102,000 on COVID -19-related expenses.
This included computer hardware and software to support remote teaching and learning and personal
protective equipment. Madam Chairman, Bermuda College’s IT expenditures for the year included $44,000 in hardware
purchases and $306,000 on contracts and licences to
support teaching and learning, as well as the C ollege’s administrative functions. The College continues
to replace high priority hardware and infrastructure
items identified as being near [the] end of their useful
life including switches, 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 $232,825 via the Bermuda College
Foundation to assist in the updating of the IT infrastructure.
As part of the College’s c ommitment to providing a safe and healthy environment for it s students
and employees, it spent $446,860 on improvements to
its physical plant, and routine cleaning and maintenance contracts.
Bermuda College is projected to spend
$490,000 on insurance and $800,000 on electricity and other utilities during the 2020/21 fiscal year.
A total of $156,000 in financial assistance was
allocated to students enrolled in the academic divi-sions who demonstrated a financial need from the
College operating budget. This am ount was supplemented with the additional $300,000 from the Government, mentioned previously, and another $227,216 from the Bermuda College Foundation.
Madam 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 a quality education to its students. As a result of the decrease in the Government grant for the
next fiscal year, the employees at Bermuda College
have agreed to take a 7.5 per cent salary cut for four
months to talling $288,454.
The Bermuda College Board and Executive
are thankful to the employees for their sacrifice. There
will also be a decrease in other expenses totalling $252,100.
Madam Chairman, Delivering Success, the
Bermuda College’s five- year strategic plan, is the
blueprint to steer the College towards its 50
th anniversary in 2024. [There will be] $60,000 from the grant set aside for implementing the third year of the plan. It is anticipated that additional funding for capital projects outlined in the s trategic plan will be secured via
the Bermuda College Foundation, as was the case
this past year with the $3.5 million donation for the
establishment of a Career Development Centre and IT
upgrades from international firms Athene, Athora, Aspen and Catalina.
Utilising the $300,000 grant to assist students
with financial need, the College will once again endeavour to ensure that no student is prevented from
attending Bermuda College as a result of li mited
household incomes.


Bermuda House of Assembly It is anticipated that a comparati ve number of
students will be assisted with the 2021/22 financial
assistance grant.
Looking Ahead

Hon. Diallo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chairman, as a
result of the pandemic, many projects and initiati ves
planned for the 2020/21 fiscal year were put on hold. These activities will be advanced during this coming
year and include:
• offering additional courses during the evening
and weekends to attract working adults to diversify its student body;
• the review of its Certificate for Accounting
Technicians progr amme to align it with the
ACCA Foundations in Accountancy pro-grammes;
• partnering with Queen’s University Industrial
Relations Centre (IRC) to offer its courses and
programmes through PACE; and
• the introduction of a one- year Foundation
programme for student s wishing to transfer to
a three- or four -year institution after completing one year at the Bermuda College.
Madam Chairman, the Bermuda College will
continue to work with the Department of Education to
provide college courses to qualified students through
its Dual Enrolment programme. The College will continue to forge alliances with professional credentialing
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 technology; International Compliance Association (ICA), Association of Certified Anti -Money Launderi ng Specialists
(ACAMS) and KIXKO for compliance; and local pro-fessional bodies.
During this upcoming year Bermuda College
will establish a partnership with the Bermuda Insurance Institute to offer additi onal insurance courses at
the College. Bermuda College will also establish an
entrepreneurship concentration to its Associate in
Business programme and offer an entrepreneurship
course to complement its technical education programmes.
Bermuda College will implement a prior learning assessment policy to allo w students the ability to
earn academic credit for college- level knowledge acquired through expertise developed outside of the
classroom.
Bermuda College will also continue to expand
its articulation agreements with higher education insti-tutions in the Uni ted Kingdom and throughout North
America to ensure a seamless transition for Bermuda
College graduates who wish to pursue additional edu-cation at three- and four -year institutions. Working
with one of its partner institutions, Bermuda College will introduc e an online Masters in Business Administration (MBA) programme.
To support the Bermuda College and the
Bermuda College Foundation, the College will contin-ue its efforts to reconnect with its alumni and to estab -
lish an accurate alumni database including alumni
from its three former institutions.
Madam 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. I look forward to working with them in the upcoming ye ar to help students of multiple ages to pursue their career and personal aspirations.
Thank you, Madam Chairman, this concludes
the budget on Head 41, Bermuda College, and my
overall presentation of the 2021/22 Budget for the
Ministry of Education.

The Ch airman: Thank you, Minister, for your comprehensive brief.
I would now like to call on the Shadow Minister and any other Members who wish to speak to
Heads 16, 17, 18 and 41.

Thank you, Madam Chai rman.
I would like to thank the Minister, his technical
staff, and all of those that have been working in Edu-cation this year fo r their hard work, their perseverance, their ability to transition to a very new learning environment during the pandemic and having to be sheltered in place. I cannot even . . . and, on top of
that, managing and navigating through a school restructuring p rocess. So, I just want to, certa inly, send
out much applause and thank you for the work that
you have done so far this year.
Minister, I would like to go through the line
items. I may skip . . . just in the essence of time, I may
ask about a few of the t opics and then I may come
back and then just ask a couple of more detailed or
simple, sort of, one line answered questions a little
later on. But I would like to start in Head 16 on page
B-135.
I would like to find out a little bit more about
the Grants t o External Bodies, it is line 26080. I am
just wondering, Minister, if I might find out what some
720 10 March 2021 Official Hansard Report

Bermuda House of Assembly of those external bodies are which receive grants
through the Ministry of Education. I do see a list on
page C -18 but, again, there is a line in there that is
very general. It is 6869, Grants to External Bodies,
and I am just curious if you could name or identify
some of those external bodies, just to give clarity as to
that line item.
And the spend last year was $823,000, which
looks like there has been an es timated decrease there
. . . I ha ve got so many circles around there. Yes, a
decrease of $322,000 this year. So, I am just wondering if you might be able to shed some light on that,
please.
My other interest in the Ministry of Education,
Head 16, is still under the Grants. And I notice t hat
under the Performance Measures, business unit
26080, Grants to External Bodies, that there does not
seem to have been any financials provided over the
last, I guess, couple of years. There is an expected
outcome for Mar ch 2022 that is published here, b ut I
am just wondering how we are basing giving out as
much as a half million dollars and we do not have financials from those external bodies. I just wanted to
see if I could get a little clarity on that.
Turning the page, on B -136, still on Head 16,
under Professional Services under Subjective Analysis of Current Account Estimates, in 2019/20, Professional Services received a budget of $448,000 and
the following year and, then, this year as well, the
budget for Profession al Services has gone up and it is
now $1.6 million, $1,607,000. And then this year it is
$1,617,000. I am just curious . . . my first question is,
how long is it going to stay that high? And then, why is
it that high? So, if something has changed radically , if
you might be able to just shed some light on that? If it
is due to the reform, I am just curious if there is a time
line of how long that budget will stay as high as $1.6
million.
Minister, I see on [page] B -136, again, back
under Grants and Contributions, that there is $1.848 [million] —and this includes the schools . . . ah, it includes scholarship awards and student awards. Okay,
that is fine. And so, I am still just interested in the
Grants and Contributions for External Bodies.
So, Head 16, I bel ieve that those are all of the
questions that I have for that. I would be interested in
finding out just an update on the Board of Education
and the . . . sort of just a bit of an overview of where
they are and what they have been doing this year.
Hon. Di allo V. S. Rabain: Madam Chai rman ?