Story: Lydia Flanagan
On 2nd February Burngreave residents took a petition of 1080 signatures, mainly from young people, against these cuts in educational maintenance allowance (EMA) and study support to the Council. The outcome achieved was certainly something to be proud of!
The Council has no power over EMA funding but agreed they would write to the government on behalf of the petitioners. On the other hand, study support representatives Muna Abdi and Yassar Mohammed delivered strong arguments against cuts to study support schemes proposed by the Council.
Study support groups help young people with their work at school, giving them confidence and motivation to get through their school work, and help them find a way of learning that suits them. It has a big knock-on effect on students going on into further education. These groups are held outside school hours, so give the young people something to do that is positive. The groups have very strong support from teachers, parents and pupils.
The proposed cuts would have brought Study Support funding down from £230,000 to just £80,000. However, after the petition, the council decided to fund the groups at £200,000. This was a big achievement for the young people!