"GIVING CHILDREN an Even Break - that's the name of the grant we receive. How do you cut something called Giving Children an Even Break? But they have. It's gone," says Anne Dempsey, principal of St Conleth's Junior National School, in Newbridge, Co Kildare.
Hers is among the schools that will suffer most because of the Budget. It is not a disadvantaged school but it retained certain funding and benefits under previous disadvantaged initiatives.
"Nobody in this school is rich," Ms Dempsey says. "But some are in greater need than others. We received €6,000 under the Giving Children an Even Break scheme which we used to provide resources to children and to subsidise the children in activities like gymnastics or music."
The key is for no child to be different because of a lack of money. "If we hear that somebody is having financial problems buying books or uniforms for example, an effort is made to help." explains Ms Dempsey. "We have had the resources to do that."
Money withdrawn
The school also receives an additional top-up grant for children from the Traveller community who attend the school. Again, because the school does not have disadvantaged status that money has been withdrawn. "The extra money just ensured that the children could be provided with uniforms and taught in the mainstream classroom. Again, it allowed us to make sure that they would be no different to the other children," says Ms Dempsey.
Schools like Ms Dempsey's, with a high cohort of students from disadvantaged backgrounds, fall into an awkward category in this Budget. If a school qualifies as disadvantaged under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) scheme, although it will lose out in other ways, it will retain teachers and top-up grants.
Many other schools, however, were classified as disadvantaged in the 1980s but didn't quite qualify under strict DEIS guidelines. Because of their high numbers of disadvantaged students, they still qualified for certain support posts and top-up grants. All of these have been abolished.
"We didn't qualify for DEIS because our Junior Cert results are too good and our retention rate is too high," says Brendan Forde, principal of St Joseph's Secondary School, Foxford, Co Mayo. "We're victims of our own success. I think there is only one DEIS school in the whole of Mayo. There are disadvantaged students in every single voluntary school."
Disadvantaged
Mr Forde's school has a large number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds. "They need so much support," he says. "If there isn't the support at home or in the community, someone needs to be there to take an interest in them, to make sure they attend school and to keep an eye on them."
Until now, the school has had two teaching posts for that very purpose, to provide that back-up to students who may not get it elsewhere. Those posts have been abolished.
The school is also set to lose its home, school and community liaison officer.
"It's a hugely important job. He'll make sure that students have books; that they get a meal in school; that they get in to school in the first place," explains Mr Forde. "Parents have often had bad experiences of school and wouldn't darken our door. Some of them only deal with the officer. He'll make sure letters from school are opened and understood. He'll deal with the HSE, social workers and so on. That is simply not going to get done now."
Losing special teacher posts and the liaison officer is only the start of the story for the school.
The third-level access programme, a partnership between the school and various third-level institutions that enabled students from disadvantaged backgrounds to access third level, is now gone.
Top-up money for students' capitation (again because of disadvantage) to the tune of €13,000 for the school has been abolished.
"That's not to mention all of the other cuts suffered by schools [affecting] free books, home economics, science, special needs, transition year, teachers. We'll be down by €50,000," Mr Forde says. "We either have to find that money or reduce the level of our service. They have hit the most vulnerable in society because they are easy targets. It is inexcusable."