I propose to take Questions Nos. 180 to 182, inclusive, together.
There are fundamental educational reasons for not allowing a junior/senior post-post primary school configuration in Maynooth. These include: - The introduction of a third major transfer point for students between primary level and third level
- The question of which school the Transition Year should be placed in
- The undermining of Department policy to maintain as common a curriculum as possible for as long as possible to avoid the risk of specialisation too early and school drop out
- The potential danger that the senior school will come to be seen as the 'specialist' Leaving Certificate centre into which transfers are sought at senior cycle
- The loss of the advantages to be gained when teachers regularly teach students from first year to sixth year
- The possibility of students from other schools seeking entry to the senior school with the attendant repercussions for other schools. Apart for these compelling educational reasons, patronage of the new school, was awarded to the Kildare and Wicklow Education and Training Board (KWETB) specifically on the basis that it would deliver the prescribed curriculum at both Junior and Senior Cycle. Any change to this stated intention could lead to a challenge or to calls for the patronage determination process to be commenced afresh. This could have the effects of both delaying the establishment of the new school and, of course, re-opening the patronage of the new school to other applicant patrons.
I have met with a parents' deputation and, in accordance with normal protocol following such meetings, I communicated the outcome of my subsequent consideration of this matter to the Deputies who had requested the meeting. I also recently wrote directly to the Chairperson of the Maynooth Schools Group fully outlining the reasons for my decision to provide Maynooth with two fully-vertical post-primary schools and confirming that I am adhering to this decision.
I am satisfied that the enrolment procedures put in place by the management structure developed by the KTWEB for the new campus will ensure a fair and equitable enrolment policy for both schools. I am also satisfied that the erroneous description of the existing post-primary school in Maynooth as being a designed Community College was corrected as soon as it came to light and that this had no bearing on the outcome of the patronage determination process for the new school.
