Mum earning £700-a-month told she is 'not deprived enough' to send son, 3, to nursery

A single mother said she feels like quitting her £700-a-month job after her son was refused a nursery place because they are 'not deprived enough'.

Emma Murray had hoped to get her three-year-old into the same establishment that his 14 cousins attended.

She told Belfast Live : "It's not the closest, but I have 14 nieces and nephews that have gone to Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain, and some to Colaiste Feirste in West Belfast.

"That's the reason I put him down - because he would have been the only one in the family that didn't attend it."

Despite hand delivering her application while at the school collecting nieces and nephews, the part-time classroom assistant said little Rúa was refused a place.

And a subsequent appeal did not help either.

The 30-year-old said: "I have done nothing but cry my eyes out over it.

"They sent me an email after the tribunal to say they are standing by their decision, that he didn't get it. It's basically because I am not falling into social disadvantage criteria and they told me that.

"I am a single parent and said 'I do fall into that category', they said 'you don't because you are a single parent that works'."

"It makes me feel angry and like I should quit my job, because if I quit my job, I'll get everything else handed to me and my child would have got a place in nursery.

"They said in the tribunal he would have got a place if I didn't work."

The New Lodge woman said she works 24-hours a week as a classroom assistant for the Education Authority at Trinity College on the Antrim Road.

But someone has to look after her son while she's there, so she pays £150 a week for daycare.

She added: "I work 24 hours a week and earn at most £700 a month. It's not a big income.

"I do get some help from tax credits. I struggle in day-to-day life, but I don't want to not work."

Emma said the huge saving a nursery place would make her is not the only reason she wants a place for Rúa.

"He's three years and eight months which means he's ready for primary school next year and will miss out on a year of nursery," she added.

"I have him in a daycare at the minute. I worked in one for 11 years and a daycare and nursery are completely different.

"When he goes to primary one, he's going to be behind and disadvantaged. He's going to have no structure.

"I can only teach him so much in the house."

Rúa's rejection from the naiscoil has left Emma feeling really disheartened because her family has always supported the Irish language school.

It's just a kick in the teeth when you are told you can't have a place because you work," she added.

Emma said the closest two nurseries to her home are New Lodge and the naiscoil - and that she is in the catchment area for both. But neither have a place for Rúa.

The school-worker said she was even more upset to learn that a child who lives outside the catchment area was offered a place before her son.

"There was 26 places in the naiscoil class, and they were told 15 had to be socially disadvantaged, which left it up to them for 11," she added.

"I have no place at all for him and pay a daycare on the Cliftonville Road £150 a week.

"You are almost being punished for working."

A spokesperson for the Education Authority (EA) said that when a nursery or school is oversubscribed its sets its own admissions criteria.

But in drawing up admissions criteria, legislation requires all pre-schools to give priority to children in their final pre-school year who are from socially disadvantaged circumstances.

They said the definition of children from socially disadvantaged circumstances is a child whose parents are in receipt of either:

- Income Support

- Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance

- Income Support which has been converted to Employment and Support Allowance and the level of benefit remains the same; or

- Universal Credit

They also said: "EA does not comment on individual cases."

A spokesperson for Naiscoil and Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagain said: "The school has no comment to make on individual cases and operates an open enrolment policy in line with DE guidelines."