The Department of Education (DE) has announced that funding for specialist sports coaches in primary schools will end.
DE informed coaches from the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) and IFA (Irish Football Association) that funding would be cut to run the school sports programmes both associations offer in primary schools across Northern Ireland.
In a statement, the department said that “due to budget cuts, difficult decisions have had to be made”.
Meanwhile, representatives from the GAA and IFA are seeking support from MLAs and requested an urgent meeting with the department’s permanent secretary in relation to the decision.
The scheme offered by the IFA and GAA is offered in more than 200 schools annually with a cost of approximately £500,000 per year to run. It supported 900 teachers and 24,000 children, delivering more than 400 PE classes a week.
Representatives from the associations have voiced their concerns at this latest budget cut impacting directly on children describing it as a “significant loss”.
They stated that the decision to axe the funding has been taken at a crucial time in children’s lives when “physical inactivity risks long-term harm to the physical and mental health of children”.
In a statement, DE explained that it “recognises how disappointing this decision will be for everyone involved in the delivery of the programme and for the young people who have benefitted from it”.
“The education budget has been reduced by 2.5% and faces estimated pressures of £382m” it added.
“While the department acknowledges the value that both organisations have added to support and enhance the delivery of the curriculum, difficult decisions have had to be made to cease funding to a number of third-party organisations.”
