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01/07/2005
Children stage 'after school' clubs protest
Children from some of the 200 after school clubs facing the axe in Northern Ireland staged a protest at the City Hall in Belfast on Thursday.
The children released 200 red balloons, one for each of the clubs which is likely to close in the next few months.
The Child Care Lobby Group said the balloon launch was part of an event to highlight the acute lack of government funding for both early years and after school childcare projects in Northern Ireland.
Last month, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly, who was born in Northern Ireland, unveiled plans for extended opening hours for primary and secondary schools in England.
Under the new proposals, schools would open between 8am and 6pm every day, will offer a variety of ‘breakfast clubs’ and after-school activities, including homework clubs, sport activities, music tuition, and opportunities to learn skills such as another foreign language, chess or first aid.
With this in mind, the out-of-school organisation, PlayBoard, said it was urging the government to make available an immediate sum of £500,000 to provide an interim lifeline for the after school clubs currently facing closure and to the after school club provision in England to include Northern Ireland.
“It’s a cruel irony that Ruth Kelly has announced a major expansion of such provision in England, while almost all voluntary out of school clubs in Northern Ireland face imminent closure,” PlayBoard’s Chief Executive, Marguerite Hunter Blair said.
“The £500,000 we’re calling for is a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on such provision in England.”
Government proposals will put around £680 million into the scheme over the next two years in England.
(MB/SP)
The children released 200 red balloons, one for each of the clubs which is likely to close in the next few months.
The Child Care Lobby Group said the balloon launch was part of an event to highlight the acute lack of government funding for both early years and after school childcare projects in Northern Ireland.
Last month, Education Secretary Ruth Kelly, who was born in Northern Ireland, unveiled plans for extended opening hours for primary and secondary schools in England.
Under the new proposals, schools would open between 8am and 6pm every day, will offer a variety of ‘breakfast clubs’ and after-school activities, including homework clubs, sport activities, music tuition, and opportunities to learn skills such as another foreign language, chess or first aid.
With this in mind, the out-of-school organisation, PlayBoard, said it was urging the government to make available an immediate sum of £500,000 to provide an interim lifeline for the after school clubs currently facing closure and to the after school club provision in England to include Northern Ireland.
“It’s a cruel irony that Ruth Kelly has announced a major expansion of such provision in England, while almost all voluntary out of school clubs in Northern Ireland face imminent closure,” PlayBoard’s Chief Executive, Marguerite Hunter Blair said.
“The £500,000 we’re calling for is a drop in the ocean compared to the hundreds of millions of pounds being spent on such provision in England.”
Government proposals will put around £680 million into the scheme over the next two years in England.
(MB/SP)
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Northern Ireland WeatherThis Evening and Tonight:A dry night, save for a few light showers around the coasts, with prolonged clear spells and light winds bringing a frosty dawn for many in central and southern parts. Minimum temperature -3 °C.
