DUP Education Spokesperson Sammy Wilson has held talks with the Chairperson of the Buddy Bear Trust, the only independent special school in all of Ireland which provides Conductive Education for children with Cerebral Palsy. Brendan McConville requested a meeting to garner the East Antrim MP’s backing to the school’s ongoing ‘Save the Buddy Bear School for Children with Cerebral Palsy’ campaign.

Speaking after the meeting Mr Wilson said: 

“Following a valuable meeting in my capacity of Chairperson of the Northern Ireland Assembly Education Committee with Brendan McConville, Chairperson of the Buddy Bear Trust Conductive Education School in Dungannon, I am giving my personal backing to ‘Save the Buddy Bear School for Children with Cerebral Palsy’ campaign and will use my position to argue the case for maintaining this essential facility.

The brilliant work of the Buddy Bear Trust must be supported at all levels.  And I am only too aware of the enormous anxiety that the parents of children attending the Buddy Bear Trust school share because of fear of the school being shut down due to lack of funding and support.  I will use my position to advocate strong resistance to its closure and publicise the immense benefits that the school has to offer.