Action plan needed to support children and young people reach their full potential - Sheehan
Sinn Féin Education spokesperson Pat Sheehan MLA has expressed concern at the findings of a recent audit office report on education expenditure in the north.
Speaking following the publication of the Audit Office's 'Closing the Gap, Social Deprivation and links to Educational Attainment' report, the West Belfast MLA said:
"The findings of this latest report are concerning.
“Now is the time to look at how our schools are funded and how we invest in our children and young people.
"I was disappointed to find out recently that a review of the common funding scheme was shelved due to the onset of COVID. This Audit Office report should encourage officials in the Department of Education to revisit that review with a sense of urgency.
"The Audit Office report raised an important point around the issue of accountability and how money intended for targeting social need was spent. This shouldn't be about burdening our school leaders with more paperwork and bureaucracy but instead we should be striving to ensure our schools are adequately funded so that money designated to tackle disadvantage can be spent on exactly that and not filling the gaps left by a decade of Tory cuts.
"What we need now is for the Education Minister to use all of this evidence to put in place an action plan to support these children and young people in reaching their full potential."