Londonderry: Children risk being 'abandoned' with funding cuts

Community groups met at the Rainbow Child and Family Centre in Derry on Monday to voice opposition to planned cuts to funding

Vulnerable young children risk being "abandoned" due to funding cuts to community groups, a public meeting in Londonderry has heard.

About 60 people attended a gathering on Monday in Galliagh to voice concerns about the future of the Pathway Fund.

It helps provide early years education to children in playgroups and youth centres across Northern Ireland.

Stormont officials have been planning for budget cuts of at least £500m in cash terms in this financial year.

Jackie Connolly, who is the coordinator of Rainbow Child and Family Centre where the meeting was held, said they discussed an action plan to try and help save the Pathway fund.

"This is people's lives we are dealing with here," she told The North West Today.

The annual funding for education programmes in Northern Ireland was cut by £70m (2.5%) in the recent 2023-24 budget set by Northern Ireland Secretary, Chris Heaton-Harris.

However, the real-terms reduction, taking account of inflation, is likely to be higher.

'Already missed out'

The Education Authority (EA), which is responsible for most of the day-to-day spending of the education budget, has said it is facing a shortfall of about £200m this year.

BBC Radio Foyle has approached the Department for Education (DE) over concerns raised by groups at the meeting that funding from the Pathway Fund has not being confirmed beyond June.

There is an estimated 187 groups across Northern Ireland that utilise the Pathway Fund for their programmes.

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"These children are some of the most vulnerable in society and we can't just abandon them," said Ms Connolly.

"A lot of the children impacted are Covid babies who have already missed out on so much."

The group said it had written to Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris about its concerns and planned to take a delegation to Stormont to push for saving the fund.

Vanessa Craig's son Jonah has been supported by Foyle Down Syndrome Trust

In Derry, the fund has helped support the delivery of Foyle Down Syndrome Trust's One-To-One Education Programme which allows individual tutoring for children with Down's syndrome.

The Foyle Down Syndrome Trust has said that unless the Pathway Funding is replaced, their education programme may need to close.

Manager Chris Cooper said the programme helped provide a vital service to children in need across the north west.

"The impact of losing the funding will be huge on the children," Mr Cooper added.

"Early intervention is key for all children, never mind children with disabilities - cutting this funding will be huge on those children and their families.

"We can't have a generation of children missing out."

Vanessa Craig's son Jonah has utilised Foyle Down Syndrome Trust's One-To-One Education programme since he was three months old.

She said she does not know how she would have coped without the programme and said cutting the Pathway Fund will deeply impact children like Jonah.