Northern Ireland

Fund to help schools serving poorer areas facing large cut

Extended school activities are designed to support learning and raise standards
Extended school activities are designed to support learning and raise standards Extended school activities are designed to support learning and raise standards

A FUND to help schools serving poorer areas offer children activities outside teaching hours is facing a large cut.

The Department of Education blamed "major financial pressures" for a plan to slash the 'extended schools' budget.

Hundreds of schools serving the north's most disadvantaged areas benefit from the money every year.

Some have told The Irish News they are now sitting down with staff deciding which services to cut due to "pretty difficult circumstances".

Launched in May 2006, more than £100 million has been provided through the extended schools programme.

The funding allows schools to offer a wide range of services or activities outside of the normal day to help meet learning and development needs of pupils, their families and communities.

The activities are designed to support learning, raise standards and promote healthy lifestyles, enabling schools to work closely with members of the wider community and connect people with services.

Examples include breakfast or homework clubs, sport, art, ICT classes, programmes for parents and families and community use of school premises.

Like many initiatives in education, it is now facing a cut in 2017/18.

Elsewhere, grants to help parents meet uniform costs are being cut by £3m.

The opening extended schools pot last year was £10,655,000. The amount available in 2017/18 is £9,153,000.

The Department of Education said, as a consequence of the indicative budget announced by Secretary of State James Brokenshire, it faced "major financial pressures in 2017/18 if it is to operate within its budget".

"Consequently options to reduce spending across all programme areas are being explored, including the clothing allowance (uniform grants), extended schools and the entitlement framework," a spokeswoman said.

"Final decisions on the scale of the budget reductions have not been taken on all areas and will depend on the department's final budget allocation. Those decisions that have been made have been communicated to the relevant organisations."

SDLP councillor Brian Heading said he had contacted the Labour shadow secretary of state in an attempt to have the cut reversed.

"I have taken this step to ask Owen Smith to intervene by meeting and explaining to his opposite number James Brokenshire of the importance of this funding to schools in areas of high social deprivation," Mr Heading said.

"After speaking to a number of school principals they have explained to me that hard decisions will need to made with a reduction of 14 per cent of funding that has been used to support after school and breakfast clubs. The loss of the budget is unacceptable."