School cleaning bills 'a real shock' as they rise by over 60%

More than 350 schools in Northern Ireland face big rises in cleaning costs from the Education Authority from September.

Some have been told their yearly bills will increase by more than 60%, or well over £100,000.

The Education Authority has said the rise is down to the "unprecedented budget challenges" it is facing.

One principal told BBC News NI that he did not blame the EA for the rise but the "lack of investment" in education.

The authority is responsible for the day-to-day funding of schools and youth services and has to make around big savings in 2023-24.

Meanwhile schools are on standstill funding for pupils despite rising costs.

According to the Education Authority, about 355 schools - about a third of all Northern Ireland's schools - face an average rise in their cleaning bills of 50%.

'Shock to the system'

Those schools are mainly controlled schools as they get a number of services through the authority.

Ricky Massey is the head of Integrated College Glengormley in County Antrim, which has more than 800 pupils.

Ricky Massey says the increases in cleaning costs are beyond his expectations

"Our bill has annually been around £160,000," he told BBC News NI.

"We get a fantastic service from the cleaning teams and so it is money well paid and well spent."

But the school has now been told it will have to pay £253,000 a year to the Education Authority for the service.

"That was an increase of £93,000, or 58%, which was a real shock to the system," said Mr Massey.

"This is beyond what our expectations were and in real terms that £93,000 is probably three times the value of the resources that go into departments in our school for each subject."

As Glengormley is a controlled integrated school, services like cleaning and maintenance are provided through the Education Authority so the school has to pay the rising bill.

"For me the issue is not so much with the Education Authority but it's down to local government and the lack of investment that's going into education," said Mr Massey.

"They've been let down by local government and this has had to be passed on to schools."

Michael Carville, the principal of Regent House School in Newtownards in County Down, is also facing a big rise in his bill from the authority.

The 1,500-pupil school had been paying £200,000 a year to the authority for the service but has now been told that will rise by 68% to £337,000 a year.

Michael Carville says schools need politicians to get back to work at Stormont to fix issues in the education sector

"That rise is slightly more than two and a half teachers cost," Mr Carville told BBC News NI.

"It's £137,000 I expected to spend on the children, on the curriculum through teaching.

'Cleaners need pay rises'

"I don't feel that this is solely the authority's fault.

"The whole country needs to get back to work, get these issues solved, as this is going to affect children.

"What I don't understand is why the increase is so large.

"I completely agree that cleaners need pay rises - my understanding is their pay rise was not very significant and inflation's at about 10% over the course of the last year.

"So a 68% increase doesn't really make sense."

A spokesperson for the Education Authority told BBC News NI: "We are conscious this is a challenging time for schools.

"Over the last seven years the Education Authority cleaning service has absorbed the financial pressure in the cleaning budget to minimise the impact on schools, whilst striving to ensure the required cleaning standards are met.

"However as education continues to face unprecedented budget challenges in 2023-24, with an estimated funding gap of around £382m, this is no longer viable."