Opinion

Education funding needs to be addressed

This is a busy but joyful time in the school calendar as pupils and staff embrace the festive spirit with nativity plays, carol concerts, Christmas fairs and other seasonal events.

Parents and grandparents attending these lovely occasions will be well aware of the enormous work that goes into a show or concert, preparing the children, decorating the school and generally making it a memorable time for all involved.

Many principals, in welcoming families and visitors, may also have taken to opportunity to emphasise the considerable financial strain that schools are under, the impact on resources and the reliance on fundraising to pay for materials that people come to expect in a modern educational setting.

We want our children to be educated in a warm, bright environment, with all the equipment they need to learn and develop, reasonable class sizes and enough staff to ensure each child gets the attention and support they require.

Sadly, our system is struggling to maintain the level of funding that is needed.

According to the Education Authority (EA), more than 450 schools in Northern Ireland are in deficit.

A Westminster inquiry found that since Stormont collapsed almost three years ago, schools are facing 'unmanageable pressures.'

Trade unions have said that staff are having to use their own money to buy classroom materials and even food, clothing and toiletries for children.

The situation is plainly extremely difficult and there will be widespread sympathy for teachers and principals trying to deliver the highest standards at a time of challenging budgets.

In a letter to head teachers, EA chief executive Sara Long has acknowledged their growing frustration with the lack of adequate funding.

She added: ''We realise that for some schools there is no more that can be done to effect any further savings.''

This is a significant recognition of the reality for many heads. Quite simply, there is no more that can be cut from a system already creaking.

This week has seen renewed speculation about the possibility that the political parties are ready to go back to Stormont.

There is no doubt the crisis in the health service is concentrating minds, as it should, although the problems in the NHS are not new.

But education funding must also be a key priority if we are to ensure all our children have the best possible learning experience.