Axe lifted on Prep School funding

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Local politicians have been claiming different measures of victory, after Education Minister Catriona Ruane backed away from total withdrawal of preparatory school funding in the coming year.

The Minister last week announced her budget allocation for education in 2010/2011. She also outlined her decision on the funding for preparatory schools in the future, following the recent consultation process on the draft Equality Impact Assessment.

The Minister said: My position on this issue has always been that funding of Preparatory Departments is an inequitable use of public money.

I have given conscientious consideration to the responses to the EQIA and recognise that ending the funding completely may cause difficulties for parents and possible disruption in some schools.

I have, therefore, decided to continue funding Preparatory Departments, but at a reduced level. The current level of funding will be reduced by one third from September 2010.

Assembly Education Committee member, Strangford MLA Michelle McIlveen, welcomed the decision, calling it a U-turn.

She said: Clearly, the fact that the Preparatory Departments, including Regent House in Newtwonards, are to continue to receive funding is very welcome news, although that funding is to be reduced by one third.

Preparatory Departments represent fantastic value for money, in terms of the results, and to remove that funding totally would have resulted in an additional burden on the education budget.

It is a relief to many of those parents who send their children to Preparatory Departments, particularly in these fraught financial times, that funding will continue.

It is also a relief for the children at these schools, who faced uncertainty whether they would still be going to their school next year. The DUP has been fighting hard for those parents and children in bringing this matter to the fore.

Her Assembly and Council colleague, Jonathan Bell, who serves as a governor of Regent House School, claimed it was a seismic victory, not only for Regent House Prep, but also for education in Northern Ireland.

He said: The tenacity of parents of prep school children, their families, and supporters has been rewarded with the only answer that a right thinking person could arrive at.

I appreciate the pain and unnecessary trauma of many who stressed over whether they could go to school next year, particularly vulnerable children with identified special educational needs. Their parents and loved ones shared that anxiety, as did many teachers and governors.

Their case has been vindicated, their arguments for the benefit of continued funding proven to be correct. Again I underline the ministers proposals were unreasonable, unachievable and unrealistic.

I call on the minister to apologise for the suffering inflicted on children as a result of the proposal to withdraw all funding to preparatory schools by September 2010.

A third Strangford MLA, Alderman Jim Shannon, sounded a more cautious note: I know that my office was inundated with emails and letters to an extent that I have never seen before. However, although the minister has back-tracked and said that she will only cut funding by a third, the battle is not over.

The preps are entitled to their full funding, and I know that myself and my colleagues will all be continuing to fight for this funding. The Education Minister has yet to reply to any letters I have sent, and yet I will keep applying pressure and urge all parents to do the same. There is no need to cut this funding, that already offers value for money, and we should not cease until the Education Minister realises this.