THE Baillieu government has made an embarrassing backdown on budget cuts that would have led to thousands of children missing out on crucial health checks after they started school.
The free assessments - designed to identify learning difficulties and health problems - were supposed to be offered to every prep student in Victoria.
Despite Education Minister Martin Dixon insisting there would be no cuts to frontline services, the Education Department went ahead and slashed funding to school nurses providing the health checks.
The department announced earlier this year that nurses who resigned or went on leave would not be replaced in Melbourne's northern metropolitan region, which includes some of the most disadvantaged schools in the state.
This had already resulted in the loss of two primary school nurses, which would have meant about 2000 prep students a year missing out on the health assessments.
But five hours after being contacted by The Age yesterday, Mr Dixon issued a one-sentence statement.
''This decision fails the commonsense test and will be reversed,'' he said.
Opposition education spokesman Rob Hulls said the government had been ''sprung trying to make cuts by stealth''.
''It is absolutely crucial that the government is held to account for any cuts that affect service delivery in education,'' Mr Hulls said.
The Education Department has been ordered to find $338 million in savings over the next 4½ years, including $36 million by June 30.
In The Sunday Age this week, Mr Dixon said the purse strings were tight, but insisted there would be no cuts to frontline services.
Before Mr Dixon's backdown last night, the department had ordered $145,00 in cuts this financial year from the office that houses child and youth health services in the northern metropolitan region.
Another $270,000 in cuts had been earmarked for next financial year.
The northern metropolitan region comprises 195 schools from Banyule, Darebin, Hume, Moreland, Nillumbik, Whittlesea and Yarra, many of which have large numbers of disadvantaged children.
In a letter to Children's Minister Wendy Lovell on April 7, the Australian Nursing Federation said it was concerned about the withdrawal of frontline services and urged the government
to remedy the ''deteriorating situation''.
Victorian secretary Lisa Fitzpatrick said there had already been a drop of 1.8 equivalent full-time positions in the primary school nursing program.
''Each nurse is responsible for 1100 primary school students. The effect therefore is that there are 2000 primary students who will not receive the service. Therefore, up to 4000 parents will not be able to have concerns about their child addressed,'' Ms Fitzpatrick wrote in the letter.
She said the secondary school nursing program, which tackled drug and alcohol abuse, suicide, depression and eating disorders in Victoria's most disadvantaged schools, would be down 3.5 nursing positions in the northern metropolitan region by the end of the year.
''Thus there are already two out of the 28 disadvantaged schools missing out on the service and by the end of the year, this will increase to six to seven schools, or more as other nurses resign or take leave,'' Ms Fitzpatrick wrote.
Last night, Ms Fitzpatrick welcomed the backdown, but said she was concerned it only happened after the minister was contacted by The Age.
''We would hope things in the future are looked at in more detail before announcements are made because it is very stressful on our members and the community they serve,'' she said.
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