School budgets: Belfast headteacher urges parents to fight cuts

Cuts to schools are "dire" and will affect support to the "most vulnerable children", according to a Belfast school principal.

Claire Robinson from Holy Evangelists' Primary School has written to parents urging them to fight budget cuts.

The school in Twinbrook has about 560 pupils, two-thirds of whom are entitled to free school meals.

There have been numerous cuts to support for children as the Department of Education tries to make savings.

Ms Robinson's intervention comes as the Children's Law Centre told Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris that it will take legal action unless he takes steps "to assess how to protect children from the cumulative effects of the budget cuts".

In her letter Ms Robinson said Holy Evangelist had a "huge cut" of about £100,000 to its budget for 2023-24, as the school had lost funding for a number of services.

"Every decision we make always has your children at the heart, but I do feel it is now vital that you know the reality we are facing," she told parents.

The school is one of 62 primaries which have a "nurture unit", a special class in which small groups of pupils receive specialist teaching and support.

But funding for those classes has been reduced.

Like others, the school has also lost funding for things like counselling for pupils and will also be affected by cuts to sports coaching.

Ms Robinson said the cuts "will impact on how we support our most vulnerable children, those with needs".

"Those children who struggled in the aftermath of the pandemic now won't get any additional support classes which is a travesty," she continued.

"This is a dire situation and those who suffer will be your children, future generations and staff who will be feeling the pressure like never before.

"I for one think this is wholly unacceptable."

Ms Robinson also said the school would have to end providing a free snack at breaktime to pupils.

"From September children will need to bring a healthy snack each day."

The principal also apologised to parents that costs for the school's breakfast and after-schools clubs would increase by 50p an hour.

"For this I am sorry, but we can't continue to offer these services at the current rate," she wrote.

Ms Robinson asked parents to "stand up and fight for the children" by contacting politicians or the media.

"Shout from the roof tops, because our children matter," she concluded.

Fergal McFerran, of the Children's Law Centre said Mr Heaton-Harris had "utterly failed" to apply the principle of equality when setting his budget.

"We fear the cumulative impact his budget will have on children and young people will be severe, particularly those most disadvantaged. We already see this in our everyday work," he said.

The Children's Law Centre has also written to Mr Heaton-Harris, telling him it will seek leave to apply to the High Court for judicial review unless the NI secretary takes action.