Nicola Stevenson, principal of Brownlow Integrated College in Craigavon, County Armagh, has spoken out about the lack of support for families in Northern Ireland who are struggling to provide food for their children. With around 50% of students at her school receiving free school meals, Stevenson has noticed an increase in demand for support, with some pupils coming to school hungry and without basic necessities like a bed or clean clothes.
When asked whether politicians understand these issues, Stevenson said, “There’s a disconnect there. How many politicians will have to choose between turning the heat on and feeding your families over Christmas? I know this will be a dilemma for many of the families in my school. Come into the school and see the children who come in hungry, with holes in their shoes, a shirt that God knows when it last saw water, come and see the real life children that need their help.”
The holiday hunger payments that previously provided support for these families were scrapped in March by the Department of Education to save money. This means that Northern Ireland is now the only part of the UK where there is no support available during school holidays. Senior civil servants are currently controlling government departments, but have limited decision-making power in the absence of ministers.
Stevenson said that Brownlow Integrated College offers a free breakfast club and lunch for students who need it. However, many children are still coming to school hungry and living in poverty. “Last week we had a mother in school who couldn’t afford food, she had something like 16p in her purse, and luckily we had a couple of hampers that we happened to just have made up sitting so we were able to give her one to take home,” Stevenson said.
To help struggling families at Christmas, staff at Brownlow Integrated College brought in gifts and offered them to pupils to be used as presents. “As educators, we can only do so much, particularly with such limited budgets, but we need help. These children need help,” Stevenson said
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