Funding cuts for disadvantaged pupils in Northern Ireland schools branded ‘shameful’; headteachers told Extended Schools Programme funding is 'no longer available'

The Department of Education in Northern Ireland has written to the headteachers of schools participating in the Extended Schools Programme to tell them funding is “no longer available”.

The project, which launched in 2006, supported activities such as breakfast and homework clubs, sport, art and drama.

More than £150 million of funding has been provided through the scheme since it began.

In its letter to headteachers, the department said schools should plan on the basis no further funding will be available after the end of the current academic year.

The letter said the programme has been supported in recent years with £5.8 million funding from the Confidence and Supply agreement.

“This funding is no longer available and, due to the extent of budget pressures, it is not possible for this to be covered from the Department of Education’s budget,” it said.

Headteachers were told the interim allocation for the programme has been set at £2.285 million, and the letter added: “This represents a reduction in budget of £6.868m from that available in the 2022/23 financial year and an overall reduction of 75%.

“Consequently, unless additional funding is allocated by the Secretary of State, funding can only be provided for the Extended Schools Programme to the end of the academic year, June 2023.

“Only those schools that continue to fully meet the Extended Schools criteria will receive funding and they will shortly be advised of the indicative funding available for the period April to June 2023 to allow provision to continue until the end of the current academic year.

“Schools should plan on the basis that no further funding will be available after June 30 2023.”

Alan Law, assistant secretary at Nipsa, said: “This announcement will be devastating for the futures of children and young people across Northern Ireland.

“It is yet another example of the failure of politicians to govern and leaving the futures of a generation of young people to the indifference to an unaccountable Secretary of State.

“The communication from the Department advises schools to plan that no additional funding will be available from June 2023.

“The programme is being wrecked and the valuable and important work destroyed. It is shameful that these decisions are being taken without anyone being accountable.”

Justin McCamphill, NASUWT national official for Northern Ireland, said the cuts come on top of the ending of the Engage Programme, the Holiday Hunger programme and the Healthy Happy Minds pilot.

He said: “If these cuts go ahead we will see the end of breakfast and homework clubs, after-school sports, art clubs, drama clubs, ICT clubs and programmes for parents and families as well as community use of school premises.

“There can be no expectation that teachers will fill the gap on an unpaid basis.

“This decision is being made in the context of wider cuts to education and against a backdrop of accelerating real-terms pay cuts.

“The Department of Education should be in no doubt that cutting services will only strengthen the resolve of NASUWT members as they take strike action next week.”

Mark Baker, chief executive of Controlled Schools’ Support Council, which supports controlled schools in Northern Ireland (NI), said financial pressures facing education are more stark there than elsewhere in the UK.

He said: “The Department of Education has been given no choice but to end this programme as a result of the shortfall in funding being made available to Education in Northern Ireland.

“As we have previously stated, these critical financial pressures facing education in NI are starker than elsewhere in the United Kingdom.

“Over their school education our young people are being further undervalued in comparison to their compatriots in Scotland, to the amount of £18,000 each.

“Schools in Northern Ireland must be provided with sufficient funding and services that values our children and young people equitably.

“Again we ask the Secretary of State the question: Why is the education of a young person in Northern Ireland valued less than those in England, Scotland and Wales?”

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said the department has yet to receive its confirmed budget for 2023-24 but the indicative allocation from the Northern Ireland Office is “extremely challenging and will require further significant reductions across a wide range of areas”.

The spokesperson said the department will finalise the Extended Schools allocation following confirmation of the education budget, adding: “However, there is currently no funding available for the programme beyond June 30 2023 and schools have been advised to plan on that basis.

“We regret the uncertainty this will create and are grateful for the work, dedication and commitment of those who support the Extended Schools programme and the benefits they deliver to our children and young people on a daily basis.”

After meeting with representatives of the Department of Education, DUP education spokeswoman Diane Dodds said the Extended Schools Programme is “unlikely to be the last casualty coming forward”.

She said there is a huge deficiency in the baseline budget for education that must be tackled and this must mean placing it alongside the Department of Health as a budget priority.

“The problems in our budget existed when the executive and assembly was fully functioning and their restoration will not be a panacea to the challenges we face.

“There are fundamental issues with how public services are financed in Northern Ireland compared to the rest of the UK, and it is patently obvious the current funding model has failed,” she said.