Funding crisis threatens to ruin summer for children

Published on Saturday 23 February 2008 10:39

A SUMMER play scheme for children with special needs is under threat due to a funding crisis.

Parents say it would be "horrendous" for the children at St Crispin's Special School if the scheme was to fold.

The youngsters who attend the Blackford school have severe learning difficulties, with conditions ranging from autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), to Asperger's syndrome and Down's syndrome.

The summer scheme has been running for the past five years using National Lottery funding which has now come to an end.

Parents have set up the St Crispin's After School Association to try to raise the 60,000 needed to run the scheme this summer. They fear that cancelling it would cause the pupils severe distress, as well as leaving parents needing to arrange alternative childcare or take extra time off work.

The after-school club at St Crispin's is also facing an uncertain future due to funding problems, but is managing to struggle on by increasing the fees paid by parents. The summer scheme runs for the first four weeks of the holidays and needs between 30 and 40 fully-trained staff.

Each employee must have full training in dealing with children with special needs, which costs around 500 per person.

Association member Ian White, from Balerno, whose 12-year-old daughter Naomi suffers from ADHD and is a pupil at the Watertoun Road school, today called on the council to step in with some cash.

Mr White said: "We have already applied to various charities, but even if we are successful, it will not match the funding that we were awarded previously.

"We are run ragged trying to get the money in. The council do provide transport that the children need to get to the summer scheme, but they need to participate more now. The ideal solution would be to get the full amount from the council.

"If we don't get the four weeks, what do we do? It would be a horrendous situation and would cause a lot of difficulty.

"The children at the school have moderate to severe learning difficulties and it's very disruptive for them, particularly the autistic children who need a routine. It affects them in a way we can't understand."

Naomi's mother, Wendy, added: "We couldn't survive without the summer scheme.

It allows her to be in a nice, safe environment."

The city council has not yet committed to providing any money for the scheme.

Councillor Marilyne MacLaren, the city's education leader, said: "We are working with the parents association to try and identify alternative options."

The crisis at St Crispin's comes after the Go 4 It

and Play 4 It school holiday programmes were both axed by the council.