Motion: Protection of Rural School Kitchens

That this Council firmly opposes the proposed closure of the kitchen at St Joseph’s Primary School, Donagh, and expresses its deep concern at the continued closure and centralisation of school kitchens across rural Fermanagh and the wider North of Ireland.

The Council calls upon the Education Authority to place an immediate halt on this closure and to ensure that no staff are redeployed, no equipment is removed and no irreversible action is taken pending a full and transparent review.

This review must examine the financial justification for closure, the effect upon pupils, staff and the wider rural community, the cost and reliability of transporting meals, compliance with the Rural Needs Act (Northern Ireland) 2016, and the equality and consistency of the Education Authority’s approach across all school sectors.

The Council requests an urgent meeting between an all-party Council delegation, Education Authority Chief Executive Richard Pengelly and the senior officers responsible for school catering.

The Council further agrees to write to the Minister of Education expressing its deep concern at the continuing closure of rural school kitchens, requesting immediate ministerial intervention in the case of St Joseph’s Primary School, Donagh, and calling for a wider review of the policy and criteria governing such closures.