IMPLICATIONS FOR PARENTS AND THEIR CHILDREN’S EDUCATION FOLLOWING THE ’09 BUDGET  

• AT A FINANCIAL LEVEL Household Finances – Direct costs
• The effects on the family and household finances can be seen in the typical family with three children where, 1 child is in the Junior Cert. cycle, 1 child is in the Leaving Cert. cycle, 1 child started third level college.                       
• - school transport cost up by                                                  €198                        
• - third level fees up by                                                            €600                       
• - child benefit cut by €2436  (less €996 up to Jan ‘09)       €2436                         
• - exam fees, increased cost                                                  €15   .
• Total Direct cost increase for this family                    .       € 3,249 

Plus the 1% income levy on the gross income up to €100,000.NO increase in the third level grant for students to attend third level education to families who already require assistance.NO allowance for inflation. 

• Household Finances – Indirect costs
• The indirect costs on the family while their children are in the schools include:School fundraising activity will be in greater demand.The withdrawal of the school book grants scheme again will put more children and families at a disadvantage 

AT SCHOOLS LEVEL 

• 1. BIGGER CLASSES
• Class sizes will increase from 27 to 28 pupils per class at primary level and 18 to 19 per class at secondary level.  
• IMPACT: 200 teachers will lose their Jobs at primary level. At second level the Department claims that 200 teachers will lose their Jobs, but teachers argue that 1,200 will be out of work. 

• 2. NO SUBSTITUTION COVER FOR UNCERTIFIED SICK LEAVE
• Teachers absent on uncertified sick leave will not be entitled to substitute cover.  
•  IMPACT: If a teacher wakes up ill on a Monday morning and cannot go to work, the school will not be allowed to employ a substitute until that teacher gets a medical cert. At primary level students will have to be split among other classes in the school. Schools may have no choice but to send students home. 

• 3.  NO COVER FOR TEACHERS ABSENT ON SCHOOL BUSINESS
• At post-primary level teachers absent on school business also lose their entitlement to a sub.  
• IMPACT: Sporting events, field trips, college open days, tours and debates will all fall by the wayside. A minimum of two teachers have to accompany students on school trips. With no cover for them most schools will have to opt out. 

• 4. FUNDING FOR DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN SLASHED
• Schools with a significant number of disadvantaged students, but that do not qualify as disadvantaged schools in the DEIS programme, have had special-teacher posts to provide support for these students and their families. All of these posts have been abolished. Extra money for Traveller children within these schools has also been withdrawn.  
• IMPACT: Teachers with expertise in supporting disadvantaged students will lose their jobs. No extra support or resourcing for children from the Traveller community will create huge gaps in the support network. Less support for students will mean more problems for schools and teachers as they try to cope. 

• 5. FREE BOOKS SCHEME ABOLISHEDAll schools, apart from disadvantaged schools in the DEIS scheme, lose the allowance that enabled them to give free school books to some students.  
• IMPACT: School books can cost up to €300 per year in secondary school. The withdrawal of subsidies will cause massive hardship for some parents. 

• 6. LANGUAGE-SUPPORT POSTS SLASHED
• A cap of two language-support teachers per school will be reintroduced regardless of how many newcomer students a school has.  
• IMPACT: Schools with 160 students who need English language tuition would have had six language-support teachers in situ. Now four teachers will lose their jobs and two will have 80 students each. 

• 7, POST-PRIMARY GRANTS CUT
• Grants for transition yean LCVP, Leaving Cert Applied, home economics, physics and chemistry, choirs and orchestras and Junior Certificate schools programmes have all been abolished.  
• IMPACT: Even with the extra funding, schools normally subsidised these programmes. Now, they will have to consider if they can afford some or all of those programmes. Science labs will remain chronically under-resourced.      

• 8, PROTESTANT SCHOOLS HAVE EXTRA FUNDING WITHDRAWN
• Fee-paying Protestant schools have traditionally received extra grants to allow for the fact that Protestant students are likely to be dispersed around the country and might be unable to attend a local free Protestant school. These have been abolished.  
• IMPACT: These grants have always been distributed to students from poorer backgrounds. Students might now have to attend the local Catholic school.   

• 9. TRAVELLER FUNDING FOR EDUCATION SLASHED
• Capitation funding for Travellers in non-disadvantaged schools is withdrawn while funding for Travellers in disadvantages schools will be reduced. 
• IMPACT: Children from the Travelling community will have less support and are less likely to stay in school.  

• 10. GRANT FOR RESOURCE TEACHING ABOLISHEDResource teachers received a small grant for equipment and materials to enable them to teach students with special needs. That has been withdrawn. 
• IMPACT: Students who need extra help will have to make do with what they have. Teachers will be unable to provide them with newer up-to-date materials.  

• 11, NON-IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL NEEDS ACT
• The Education for People with Special Educational needs Act will ensure the statutory right to a suitable education for people with special educational needs. It was due to be implemented on a phased basis up until 2010. That is now on hold. Children with special educational needs will have their needs met on a non-statutory basis 
• IMPACT: Parents of children with special needs struggle to get a suitable education for their children. This looks set to continue.  
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• 12. NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PLAN FUNDING FOR COMPUTERS IN SCHOOLS POSTPONED
• €252 million was supposed to have been spent on ICT between 2007 and 2013. Schools have yet to see any of this.  
• IMPACT: ICT facilities in our schools are sorely lacking and greatly needed. That will continue to be the case.