Father of six left in turmoil by travel payment

Father of six left in turmoil by travel payment

22 October 2014

A SAINTFIELD dad has warned he may be forced to take his children out of school because of a stand-off with education officials.

Single father of six, Mr. Paul Steward, says the South Eastern Education and Library Board (SEELB) has refused to provide a grant to help him transport four of his children, who are of primary school age, to school in Crossgar.

The SEELB, which provides such grants to eligible children, has not made last year’s payment after claiming the application was not received.

Mr. Steward, who admits he is financially struggling after leaving work to look after his family, says he feels the SEELB has shown him a total lack of empathy by “flatly refusing” to consider his payment.

He says the total amount, of around £450, would have been pittance to him when he was working full-time, but is now a significant enough sum to determine the continued attendance of his children at a school they love.

His children began to attend Cedar Integrated Primary School 

last September, after Mr. Steward struggled to find a suitable school closer to home that could cater for all four.

He said he had hoped the fuel allowance would help him manage the cost of the daily school commute and says he is exhausted having to fight with the SEELB to secure the payment.

He says he is shocked by the lack of empathy from the officials and finding the daily commute so financially taxing that he may be forced to withdraw his children from school.

“My children have been through quite a bit over the last while, as the SEELB knows, and I am delighted they have settled so well at school that I do not want to uproot them,” he said.

“But I really have no idea what to do next because the education board is completely refusing to pay.

“They really do not care about the struggle I have trying to keep them in a school they love.

“I worked from the age of 13 and am now on benefits for the first time in my life.

“This is totally alien to me, but my priority is to keep the six children happy and healthy.

“The overall fuel allowance is about £450 per year, which would not have been a lot of money to me when I was working, but it is enough now to keep me ticking over.

“Without that money I will have to take them out of school, which I really do not want to do.

“Somehow I will have to get them placed closer to home, even if that means separating them into different primaries.”

Mr. Steward said he would not pursue a fuel allowance for this school year until he knows the outcome of last year’s payment.

An SEELB spokesman confirmed that it had a statutory obligation to provide transport assistance to eligible pupils to facilitate their attendance at school.

He said the Board makes an assessment for eligibility for transport assistance based on the information obtained from the appropriate application forms.

“No application for transport assistance was received from Mr. Steward for 2013/14,” he said.