A pre-school worker says that "children are being punished" by budget cuts as vital early years education funding is set to end in June.
The Pathway Fund, which was set up to boost the development of children from 0-4 in Northern Ireland is set to come to an end at the end of June, with around 10,000 children losing access to vital support in their pre-school years.
The loss of funding also means that 500 jobs are now at risk as pre-schools may not be able to cover their staffing costs and some may have to shut entirely.
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A petition has been launched this week by Early Years, who administer the pathway fund on behalf of the Department of Education, calling on the Secretary of State to "to ensure that adequate funds are made available to continue supporting the most disadvantaged children within our society through The Pathway Fund."
Speaking to Belfast Live, Karen McCormick, leader at Little Stars, Killyleagh, said that the loss of The Pathway Fund will have a devastating impact on the development of thousands of children in 187 communities in Northern Ireland.
She said: "The loss of The Pathway Fund will be a devasting blow to children and families across Northern Ireland and rob them of much needed support for their development in early years.
"With the funding stopping at the end of June, 10,000 children in 187 communities will now lose out on early years support and 500 jobs will be put at risk.
"Many of the children coming to our pre-school need this vital support as they are Covid children who were isolated from others for so long during the pandemic. Coming here was the first time that some ever had a chance to play with another child before.
"The loss of this funding will also mean that nurserys may have to raise their prices in order to stay open, which will add further financial pressures on families and it could stop parents from working due to the lack of childcare.
"It feels like these budget cuts are designed to punish our children and it is breaking my heart."
A petition launched by Early Years calling for fund to be allocated to support The Pathway Fund has been signed by over 4,000 people since it was launched on Tuesday.
It said: "With The Pathway Fund set to cease at the end of June 2023, there will be a loss of local early years education and learning services throughout 187 communities, in some of the most disadvantaged areas of Northern Ireland. This will have a significant negative impact on over 10,000 children aged 0 - 4 years old.
"In the absence of a functioning Northern Ireland Assembly we are calling upon the Secretary of State For Northern Ireland to ensure that adequate funds are made available to continue supporting the most disadvantaged children within our society through The Pathway Fund."
The Department of Education has said that its budget allocation has been "extremely challenging" and that an interim allocation of funding for The Pathway Fund has been made until June 30, 2023.
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said: “The Department has now received its budget allocation for 2023-24 from the Northern Ireland Office and is working through the detail. The allocation is extremely challenging and may require significant reductions across a wide range of areas to remain within budget.
“In recent years, the Pathway Fund has benefited from £2.3m Confidence and Supply monies (annually) which has now come to an end.
“However, to sustain important Early Years services over the next three months, DE has made an interim allocation of funding of £1.05m in respect of the Pathway Fund for the period 1 April 2023 to 30 June 2023.
“The Department will confirm the final Pathway Fund allocation following consideration of the education budget.”
If you would like to sign The Pathway Fund petition you can follow this link.
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