McNulty welcomes reinstatement of Curriculum Sports Programme
SDLP Newry and Armagh MLA Justin McNulty has welcomed a decision to reinstate Curriculum Sports Programme, which provides coaching to 40,000 pupils each year, after he led a cross party delegation to meet the Head of the Civil Service to defend the programme.
Reinstating the programme will save 50 jobs.
Speaking to Newry Times, McNulty said, “The Curriculum Sports Programme provides critical support to schools, assisting in the provision of coaching to over 40,000 pupils every year.
“I’m delighted that the programme will now be saved after I led a cross party delegation to meet the Head of the Civil Service on this matter. We have been working closely with the GAA and the IFA to save the 50 jobs that were under threat as a result of the decision to scrap the programme.
He continued, “On Wednesday the Permanent Secretary of the Department of Finance reallocated funds as part of the October Monitoring Round and allocated an additional £10million to the Department of Education who fund the CSP.
“I immediately made contact with the Permanent Secretary and pressed him on the need for an allocation to be made to the Curriculum Sports Programme.
“There is rightly a focus on encouraging children to maintain a fit, healthy and active lifestyle. All the evidence shows that taking part in sport and maintaining an active lifestyle from an early age doesn’t just benefit a child’s physical wellbeing, it positively influences their mental health, as well as their emotional and character development.
McNulty added, “Decisions of this nature place people in extremely challenging circumstances as their jobs remain under threat. This should never have happened. We need political leadership in departments to ensure threats like this are not repeated.”
Short URL: https://newrytimes.com/?p=61904
Posted by Newry Times News
on Oct 17 2017. Filed under Politics, Sport.
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