Fears raised over pre-school funding cuts

CONCERNS have been raised about the quality of pre-school provision after the cutting of staffing levels allowed by providers who will also receive €2 week less per child from next September.

The cut in the funding from Children’s Minister Frances Fitzgerald’s department amounts to 3% of the payment childcare and early education providers receive under the scheme to give families a year’s free provision. But a body representing the sector said it equates to a hit of €2,000 to the annual income of a typical preschool catering for 24 children.

And although class sizes at primary schools avoided the chop for next year, Early Childhood Ireland said the increase in the child-staff ratio in the pre-school sector from 10 pupils to 11 for every teacher will do nothing for quality at a time when Ms Fitzgerald has asked the sector to help tackle literacy issues and obesity. Around 68,000 children took places in the early education scheme in its first full year, about 95% of those eligible.

Meanwhile, the Irish National Teachers’ Organisation warned that the €7 million saving from a 2% cut to schools’ day-to-day funding next year, followed by a similar cut in 2013, will see more primary teachers buying classroom resources like books and materials for pupils from their own pockets. The union will be seeking an appeals procedure for schools worst affected by phased cuts in staffing levels in small schools, where most teachers already have a mix of two or three class groups.

While almost 11,400 primary pupils whose families have medical cards will not be affected by Minister of State Ciarán Cannon’s doubling of school bus fares to €100, there is anger in rural communities that almost 25,000 children will be hit by the rise, with the maximum family charge also doubled from €110 to €220 a year for a service that was free for eligible primary pupils up to last September.

The National Parents Council — Post Primary (NPC-PP) said teacher cuts at second level that risk the loss of guidance hours could not come at a worse time, as young people need guidance counsellors more than ever when choices about what to study after school are more difficult than ever for many reasons relating to finances and career prospects.

The council also believes an additional €250 on top of the existing €2,000 annual student contribution for those who do not receive grants means the prospect for next year’s Leaving Certificate classes is now a “gaping chasm” when coupled with the 3% cut in grant payments announced by Education Minister Ruairi Quinn.

“It will once again disenfranchise the most vulnerable in our society, as well as middle income families, who are losing more of their take-home pay in levies as well as facing increased costs,” a NPC-PP spokesperson said.