Vandals are costing the education budget money that would be better spent on children’s schooling, says Eddie Teare MHK, Minister for Education and Children. In the last financial year, 198 cases of damage were reported by schools to the Department of Education and Children’s Works Division, leaving the Department with a ?24,144 repair bill. Even that figure doesn’t paint the complete picture as sometimes schools carry out minor repairs out of their budgets without the need to call in Works staff. Only a quarter – all primaries – of the Department’s 40 schools did not suffer vandalism at some point during the year. ‘It’s a sad fact of life that we have to allocate money in this way,’ said Mr Teare. ‘The sums we have to spend repairing damage to property and grounds caused by a small minority of thoughtless individuals would be much better spent on buying books and equipment for our children. ‘Vandals also have little consideration for children’s safety,’ the Minister continued. ‘Almost half the incidents reported to us are of broken windows and smashed glass. Other incidents involve people climbing onto and damaging roofs – risking their own safety as well. ‘Fortunately, one of the first tasks our hard-working school caretakers carry out each morning is a sweep of the school grounds to check for and tidy up any damage and report it, therefore preventing children getting hurt.’ Mr Teare was speaking as schools prepare to close for the summer. Their grounds remain open for recreational use – but this could change if the public doesn’t use them responsibly, he warned. ‘It’s a noticeable trend that towards the end of the school holidays, when boredom is perhaps setting in, incidents of vandalism at schools increase and our Works Division is kept busy carrying out repairs before schools reopen,’ he said. ‘Our school grounds provide superb, off-street environments in which children can play during the summer and it would be a great shame it a small minority of people who don’t show any respect for school properties spoil it for everyone and we were forced to close grounds out of hours.’ The Minister urged anyone who saw anyone behaving suspiciously in school grounds to report it to the police immediately. Inspector Derek Flint, the Isle of Man Constabulary media liaison officer, added: ‘We’d echo the view of the Minister in that money is better spent elsewhere, as even investigation has a cost and diverts resources away from other work. Lots of people use the privileged access they have to school grounds responsibly, but there is a clear line where damage is concerned and it is just not on. ‘As well as responding to any reports of anti-social or suspicious behaviour, our neighbourhood teams will invariably factor in work around vulnerable premises. Those that do intend to behave poorly would be well advised that you never know who might be watching.’ Ends