David Stanton
Question:8. Deputy David Stanton asked the Minister for Education the current situation with respect to secondary school places in the east Cork area; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [34891/22]
View answerThursday, 30 June 2022
Questions (8)
Oral answers (7 contributions)
As my colleague, Deputy Buckley, said just now, east Cork is experiencing rapid growth and the county development plan recently published indicates phenomenal growth in the area. I acknowledge the Minister visited east Cork recently. It was a welcome and successful visit. She met with the principals, visited two schools and they are still talking about it. There is a need for forward planning beginning now. Notwithstanding the excellent work done to date with extensions, new schools and so on, we need to do more. I am interested to hear what the Minister has to say.
As the Deputy will be aware, for school planning purposes the Department divides the country into 314 school planning areas and utilises a geographical information system to anticipate school place demand. Information from a range of sources, including school enrolment data and information on residential development activity, is used for this purpose. Additionally, Project Ireland 2040 population and housing targets inform the Department's projections of school place requirements.
Having considered the projected requirements in each school planning area, the Department makes an assessment of existing capacity in that area and its ability to meet any increased demand. Where data indicates that additional provision is required at primary or post-primary level, the delivery of such is dependent on the circumstances of each case and may be provided through one or a combination of the following: utilising existing unused capacity within a school or schools, extending the capacity of a school or schools and provision of a new school or schools.
The Department's projections of post-primary school place requirements in east Cork show continued growth in enrolments in the short to medium term across most areas, with most growth anticipated in the Midleton-Carrigtwohill school planning area. In response to projected future need and to enrolment pressures in the area, there has been significant capital investment by the Department in post-primary schools in east Cork.
While the Department is aware of increasing pressures and demand for additional school places in east Cork, it is important to note that where enrolment pressures arise, it may be the consequence of a number of issues, for example, duplication of applications; school of choice; where some towns or areas have single sex schools and while places are available in the school they are not available to all pupils; or there may be an external draw of pupils coming from outside the local area.
The Department is working to establish the true extent of capacity issues through ongoing discussions with the relevant school authorities. In that context, similar to the process adopted in advance of the current academic year, the Department is engaging with patron bodies, including patrons of schools in east Cork, to identify capacity requirements for the forthcoming years which may necessitate further action.
I thank the Minister for her response. I know she is aware of the unrelenting pressure on principals all this year and in previous years with respect to waiting lists. At the start of this year, some schools had 300 children on the waiting list. I know there has been duplication of enrolment with many parents applying to more than one school because they were concerned about not getting a place. I understand there are children who still have not got a place. Taking into account the huge projected growth in housing in the area, there is a need for further planning.
Carrigtwohill community school has finally started. I congratulate the Minister and her team for that. It is fantastic. I wrote to the Minister on this last week. The educate together school in east Cork is looking for a secondary school and there is an opportunity to use the old secondary school in Carrigtwohill to establish a secondary school for educate together. I know the Minister is familiar with this. It is in temporary accommodation. Will the Minister ask her officials to examine this possibility? It could happen as early as 2023 but we need to start planning ahead for it now.
We keep everything under constant review in terms of demand for places. It is important to point out there has been significant development in the east Cork area. The Deputy referenced Carrigtwohill Community College. That will be a new school building which will cater for 1,000 pupils plus 3 SEN classes and it is being delivered under the Department's design and build programme. It is currently at stage 4. The letter of acceptance issued to the preferred tender on 1 June, commencing the school building contract for the school, as the Deputy has acknowledged.
The Department has approved a grant to St. Aloysius' College, Carrigtwohill, to facilitate its expansion to cater for 1,000 pupils and two special educational needs, SEN, classes. The project has been devolved to the school authority for delivery and is at stage 1. The Department has approved a grant to Pobalscoil na Tríonóide in Youghal to facilitate its expansion to cater for 1,200 pupils and two SEN classes. The project has been devolved to the school authority for delivery. There is to be an extension to Coláiste an Phiarsaigh in Glanmire to cater for 1,000 pupils and two SEN classes. There is a building project to expand the capacity of Carrignafoy Community College to cater for 600 pupils and three SEN classes. This is being delivered by the patron, Cork Education and Training Board. The project is at stage 1. A devolved grant has been approved to facilitate the expansion of Coláiste Muire, Cobh, to include two SEN classes. Considerable progress is being made in this area.
I thank the Minister and acknowledge the massive amount of work that is being done. Many of these schools are already bursting at the seams and are almost oversubscribed with students, so we are running fast to stand still. The work is very welcome and I am not decrying it in any way but we need to be proactive in our forward planning.
I again ask the Minister whether she will ask her officials to examine the possibility of using this now empty premises, which is of very high quality and well appointed, as a place for an Educate Together secondary school in east Cork. That could start as soon as September 2023. Many of the projects the Minister is talking about will not be in place for quite a bit of time. We know how long it takes to get building off the ground from our experience of Carrigtwohill. This proposal could take a lot of the pressure off in the short term while providing parents with the second level Educate Together school they are asking for and want. A report, which I know the Minister has on her desk, was issued by the parents and board of management of the Educate Together primary school in March 2021 regarding the secondary school crisis in east Cork. This shows the great need, which will only grow in light of the thousands of houses that are earmarked for building in east Cork and which are about to be started.
I thank Deputy Stanton for raising the very important issue of extra places in secondary schools. I welcome everything the Minister has said. The development of the campus in Carrigtwohill is very positive. She mentioned Youghal, Cobh and a couple of other areas. Doing some maths quickly, I see there are to be approximately 3,000 extra places. At least the Department has acknowledged that the area is growing rapidly.
I echo Deputy Stanton's sentiment with regard to Educate Together. It has a very solid plan and is very driven. There also seems to be demand for a secondary school. As Deputy Stanton has said, we must be proactive rather than reactive on this issue. I have already mentioned that, with the constituency database, we will have more statistics on age demographics and so on. The stress on parents and families at the moment is immense. I would welcome any improvement with regard to additional secondary school places. Deputy Stanton and I are very aware that some secondary schools in Midleton cannot build up or out. Additional places are not on the cards this year. I appeal to the Minister for us to work together on this.
I thank Deputies Stanton and Buckley and acknowledge their ongoing interest in this area. I also acknowledge the ongoing commitment of, and ongoing discussions with, Deputy O'Connor with regard to east Cork. As I have said, I am very familiar with the area and am very conscious of its growth and development. I appreciate the Deputies' acknowledgment of the significant investment the Department is making in the east Cork area. It speaks for itself. When I list the schools, it is very obvious we are committed to delivering the resources required in the area.
As I said to the Deputies previously, it is also important to acknowledge we keep everything under review within the Department. We constantly seek to reach out where there are issues. I acknowledge the co-operation of the schools with regard to the sharing of information, which has been very positive and helpful. We will continue to engage on the ground and to keep under review the information that is coming our way under the geographic information system, GIS. We are committed to ensure anything required in any school area, including the east Cork area, is provided.
Question No. 9 replied to with Written Answers.