Gilnahirk Primary: No heat or hot meals for weeks at Belfast school

Gilnahirk Principal David Corbett informed parents about the heating issue on Friday

Parents of children at an east Belfast primary school have been told they will have no hot meals for a fortnight and no hot water for at least four weeks.

Principal David Corbett informed parents of the news on Friday.

He said chronic underfunding and a lack of investment is having a direct day-to-day impact on pupils' experiences.

The school has had to close its canteen as a result of two maintenance issues which will take weeks to resolve.

In a statement, the Education Authority (EA) revealed that Gilnahirk is not the only school affected by the issue.

"A small number of kitchens are currently not operating as normal at the beginning of this academic year," it read.

It added that it was "working to resolve these issues as quickly as possible" and that "in the interim, where possible, in those schools affected, a packed lunch will be provided to those children and young people entitled to a free school meal".

'Chronic underfunding'

Speaking to BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme, Mr Corbett said he had reached the stage where he needed to "say something".

"So early in the term, we have been met with two really major maintenance issues at the school.

"We've been told it will be a minimum of two weeks with no hot meals and a minimum of four weeks for heating and hot water.

"When you strip all this down, it comes back to chronic under funding. Maintenance issues are not being addressed, in fact we've been told 'don't even ask'.

"For me, these are symptomatic of wider ranging issues in the education sector at the moment."

It is not known exactly how many other schools are affected.

The EA has revealed that Gilnahirk is not the only school affected by the issue

'I can't feed them or keep them warm'

The principal told the BBC "chronic underfunding" was to blame.

"I'm faced with a situation where I can't feed children for two weeks and I can't keep them warm for four weeks at least. That's just unacceptable situation.

"For some of those children, the only time they'll get a hot meal is when they're in Gilnahirk Primary School.

"A big part of it is the approach to maintenance issues in schools is to put a sticking plaster on it. There's no real long-term thinking in relation to those issues."

Mr Corbett said his frustration had been building over the past two years.

In May, the EA said it had "regrettably and reluctantly agreed" £14m worth of cuts which it has submitted to the Department of Education for it to consider.

"This is not my usual style, I'm not someone who likes to stir up trouble, but I reached the stage where I felt the children at Gilnahirk aren't getting a fair deal.

"And there's no reason for me to think Gilnahirk is unique in that sense. If my children aren't getting a fair deal, then that's probably true of many other schools across Northern Ireland."

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In the letter to parents, the principal described the issue as "a microcosm of a much more general, system-wide malaise".