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1,000 out of school places in jeopardy

Out-of-school provision in Northern Ireland is facing a major crisis as closure hangs over 40 clubs, which could wipe out places for 1,000 children. PlayBoard, an organisation that supports voluntary out-of-school clubs, has warned that even more could close if the Government fails to answer its pleas for core funding by the end of August to make provision sustainable.

PlayBoard, an organisation that supports voluntary out-of-school clubs, has warned that even more could close if the Government fails to answer its pleas for core funding by the end of August to make provision sustainable.

Regional officer Jacqueline O'Loughlin said that of the 237 out-of-school clubs in Northern Ireland who receive Big Lottery funding, 90 were also dependent on money from the European Union's Peace and Reconciliation Fund which has now run out.

She said the clubs felt short-changed, as they do not receive the support their counterparts get in the rest of the UK. She added, 'The strategy has always been underpinned by short-term funding streams and now they are drying up, and there is no core funding to consolidate the work. We have been inundated with calls from parents, staff and management committees, all of them very worried about the future.'

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