Jobs lost at pioneering gypsy project
Eleven jobs have been lost at a flagship education service for Pembrokeshire gypsies and travellers, as a result of European funding delays.
Additional funding for the Priory Learning Centre at Monkton Priory Community Primary School came to an end in October. It was hoped a new fund would begin immediately to allow the project to continue as normal, but there is still no sign of the money.
The additional funding allowed the centre to expand its service and provide learning support workers for 14 schools in the area, helping to meet specific educational needs of more than 200 gypsy children.
However, as the project has been left waiting for the money to fund the scheme, 11 outreach staff for the Priory Project - mostly LSA workers - have been made redundant.
Ten of the redundancies have now been taken as regular LSA workers independently under schools' budgets.
Monkton Priory headteacher William Rees said: "The gypsy learning centre is used as an example for similar projects all over Wales. It supports gypsy children at primary level and as they move on to secondary education.
"The Department of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills and, in particular, the additional needs and inclusion division have been hugely supportive of our project, but we are currently operating on half our normal funding and there is a desperate need to implement European funding as soon as possible."
The project receives its core funding from the Welsh Assembly, but received match funding two-and-a-half years ago under Equals - a budget for specified ethnic minority education, administered by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO).
When the funding ended last October, it was hoped there would be a smooth transition to the new Convergence fund, but the project has not yet received the additional funds.
Shadow finance minister and south Pembrokeshire AM Angela Burns says she has raised the subject eight or nine times at the Assembly.
"Several organisations, including The Priory Project and The Sunderland Trust are suffering as a result of this gap in funding," she told the Western Telegraph.
"I've now been reassured that the various projects will be notified about what money will be available to the and when by the end of May or early June."
A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly said: "WEFO awaits further information from Pembrokeshire County Council before continuing its assessment of the project proposal for gypsy and traveller pupils."
4:17pm Saturday 19th April 2008
Additional funding for the Priory Learning Centre at Monkton Priory Community Primary School came to an end in October. It was hoped a new fund would begin immediately to allow the project to continue as normal, but there is still no sign of the money.
The additional funding allowed the centre to expand its service and provide learning support workers for 14 schools in the area, helping to meet specific educational needs of more than 200 gypsy children.
However, as the project has been left waiting for the money to fund the scheme, 11 outreach staff for the Priory Project - mostly LSA workers - have been made redundant.
Ten of the redundancies have now been taken as regular LSA workers independently under schools' budgets.
Monkton Priory headteacher William Rees said: "The gypsy learning centre is used as an example for similar projects all over Wales. It supports gypsy children at primary level and as they move on to secondary education.
"The Department of Children, Education, Lifelong Learning and Skills and, in particular, the additional needs and inclusion division have been hugely supportive of our project, but we are currently operating on half our normal funding and there is a desperate need to implement European funding as soon as possible."
The project receives its core funding from the Welsh Assembly, but received match funding two-and-a-half years ago under Equals - a budget for specified ethnic minority education, administered by the Welsh European Funding Office (WEFO).
When the funding ended last October, it was hoped there would be a smooth transition to the new Convergence fund, but the project has not yet received the additional funds.
Shadow finance minister and south Pembrokeshire AM Angela Burns says she has raised the subject eight or nine times at the Assembly.
"Several organisations, including The Priory Project and The Sunderland Trust are suffering as a result of this gap in funding," she told the Western Telegraph.
"I've now been reassured that the various projects will be notified about what money will be available to the and when by the end of May or early June."
A spokesman for the Welsh Assembly said: "WEFO awaits further information from Pembrokeshire County Council before continuing its assessment of the project proposal for gypsy and traveller pupils."
4:17pm Saturday 19th April 2008
Labels: Gypsy, Gypsy Children, Gypsy Education, UK
posted by Allie @ 6:47 AM
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