Over 35,000 signatures in support of Outdoor Education Centres

NIPSA (Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance) has handed over a petition of over 35,000 signatures to save Outdoor Education Centres

Today the Northern Ireland Public Service Alliance (NIPSA), the largest Northern Ireland public sector trade union, lodged a package of petitions collected in response to its campaign to keep open statutory Residential and Outdoor Education Centres.

The campaign was initiated in response to the Education Authority's proposal to close their statutory Centres at Ardnabannon, Bushmills, Delamont and Killowen with a threat hanging over the future of the Centre in Killyleagh.

A public consultation on the proposals closed yesterday.

NIPSA Deputy General Secretary, Kieran Bannon said: “These centres are important and invaluable to the education and development of children and young people, providing a unique learning experience in a friendly and save environment. The centres also provide the opportunity for shared learning under which young people can develop a greater understanding of self and others.”

He went on to say: “The closures if they proceed will deprive thousands upon thousands of young people of the formal and non-formal education and learning experiences these centres provide. The centres are affordable to those from areas of social deprivation and have a particular expertise through trained and professional staff, catering for children with special educational needs, those with a disability, those with learning difficulties who do not respond well to formal education settings and those from difficult social backgrounds.”

Mr Bannon added: “There has been a massive public outcry about the proposed closures and a measure of that was our delivery of 25,230 hard copy signatures and a further 10,000 on-line signatures to a petition NIPSA ran during the short public consultation period.

“This is a very significant voice of people saying no to the proposals along with the hundreds of formal written responses submitted to the Education Authority opposing their plans.”

“The Education Authority must now carefully consider the scale of opposition to their proposals. In submitting formal responses to the public consultation NIPSA, along with a broad representative grouping of respondents form other trade unions, schools, teachers, educationalists, young people, students, parents and youth workers, have provided sound reasons for keep these highly successful centres open.

He continued: “NIPSA has also proposed alternatives to the proposals which would obviate the claimed need for closure to release funds that would be redirected to the provision of other Youth Services.

“This can be achieved by developing a new service delivery model based on a revised charging regime to include a modest increase at still affordable rates, maintained below that of voluntary and private sector provision. The new service delivery model would also seek ways for the statutory and voluntary sectors to work on a more collaborative basis.”