Schools in Northern Ireland are facing serious financial difficulties, with some schools not having enough funds to cover staff salaries. This is according to the Education Authority, who said that schools are expected to be in the red by £60m in 2023/24. In addition to this, the head of Northern Ireland’s largest primary school, Strandtown Primary, also warned that her school budget will not cover paying staff.
The overall budget for education has been reduced by about £70m or 2.5%, and the budget for funding schools in Northern Ireland has also been cut. The amount of funding for each school depends on the number of pupils it has and most of the school’s budget is spent on paying staff.
Despite being one of the largest primary schools in Northern Ireland, Strandtown Primary’s budget has been reduced in recent years. This has led to the school not being able to cover lost funds from residential trips or music lessons, and day visits or events organized by the school must not create additional unplanned expenses.
The Education Authority’s Resources and People Committee heard that schools may not receive the necessary funds to replace boilers that have broken. Some schools have already been without hot meals or water this term due to maintenance problems. In addition, the overall budget shortfall of schools will lead to an increasing number of schools in the red in the coming years.
The Education Authority expressed serious concerns at the projected deficit position of schools for 2023-24, highlighting an unsustainable position for a considerable number of schools going forward. Furthermore, the money the Education Authority has for building and repairing school buildings is estimated to be around £30m less than needed. This may mean that the Authority may need to pause the development of classrooms for students with SEN to ensure that sufficient capital was available for urgent schemes at schools
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