O’Dowd welcomes an additional £15million for Education

Education Minister John O’Dowd has welcomed an additional £15million in his budget as a result of the November monitoring round.

The Minister said:

“Across the education sector, we continue to deal with a very challenging budget situation.

“This additional £15million in year allocation will be spent as follows: £5million on schools maintenance; £5million on special education and £5million to fund the drawdown of schools surpluses.

“School’s maintenance is an area of the budget always under pressure due to an ageing schools estate.

“Special education is also a growing cost pressure within the education sector and therefore additional funding will assist special education needs for pupils in both mainstream and special schools.

“In June 2011 the Executive agreed the schools surplus scheme, which allows schools to either draw down, or increase, their surpluses (the carry forward of unspent budget) and this is funded from a central pot, controlled by the Executive. This £5million allocation will fund those schools who wish to reduce their surpluses, during 2015-16, to fund in year expenditure.

“I am committed to protecting and where possible enhancing frontline services in education. I welcome this additional £15million which will go some way to easing the financial pressures within education. I will continue to do all that I can to make the case for more funds for education in order to assist our children and young people in reaching their full potential.”

Notes to editors: 

1. The Department of Education’s ‘Education Works’ campaign promotes the value of education. This year’s campaign aims to ensure that parents have information on schooling and that they are aware of the steps they can take to ‘Get Involved’ and support their teenager in achieving good outcomes at school. Watch out for the ads on television, radio and outdoor locations. The campaign highlights the vital role families can play in helping children do well at school and improve their life chances. Visit nidirect - Education Works for more information or watch the TV ad on the Department’s YouTube channel.

2. See photos from the Department of Education in our Flickr collection.

3. Media enquiries to the Department of Education Press Office Tel: 028 9127 9207. Out of office hours, contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 076 99 715 440, and your call will be returned.

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