Northern Ireland schools to get major funding boost

Education Minister Angela Smith has today announced an increase in funding for schools and Education & Library Boards for the next financial year.

A total of £1.36 billion is being allocated to schools and the five Education and Library boards in Northern Ireland.

This is the highest amount awarded to the local education system, especially as pupil numbers have fallen by around 3,000.

Earlier today, the Education Minister confirmed that she was to invest an additional £41 million directly into school budgets.

She said: "This government has made clear the importance it attaches to the role that our schools play in helping children reach their full potential, ensuring that they leave school with the skills to match the jobs that our future economy needs. Since 1997, investment in education here has increased by more than 60%. Today's announcement means that, in 2006/07, we will be investing a record amount to support teaching and learning in our classrooms."

The Minister said that when deciding upon the increase, she took various factors into account, namely teachers' pay and pension contributions, but also acknowledged that schools will continue to struggle if the numbers of students continue to decline.

She said: "This is a significant injection of extra funding into our schools, and will make a real difference to many but it could deliver so much more. The fact is that this investment is spread too thinly across too many schools, many with significant surplus places. Boards and other managing authorities have to address this issue and I will work closely with them and provide what support I can."

The Minsiter said that the independent review of education funding which the Secretary of State announced last week, will also examine the planning of the school estate, looking at the best use of resources, and identify new approaches to school provision's which will encourage greater co-operation and collaboration and the aim must be to ensure that the funding of the future delivers the impact expected to be had on schools.

In regard to the Education & Library Boards, Ms Smith said that the level of funding for "non-earmarked" Board services would increase to £366.5 million this year and there were still likely to be changes ahead, especially for the Belfast and South Eastern Boards.

Acknowledging the efforts made by the BELB and SEELB in reducing their deficits, the Minister said: "This level of increase has been made possible because of the priority attached by Ministers to providing additional education funding, but also because of the repayments made by the BELB and SEELB which have released £10m for redistribution across the education service.

"The challenge must now be for the Boards to prioritise to ensure a strong focus on key front-line services including support for special educational needs; healthier school meals and school maintenance."

She concluded by saying that she hopes to encourage them to find ways of working together on shared services in readiness for the new education authority.

(EF/SP)