Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 16 April 2024
110. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education her Department’s precise plans to guarantee a secondary school place for each child in the north Kildare area, not only in first year in September 2024, but in second year given the forced reliance of some children on home tuition and of boarding on others in the current school year (first year), with a negative impact on the child and family in all such cases due to oversubscription locally. [16267/24]
View answerThe provision of school places to meet the needs of children and young people at primary and post primary level, including children and young people with special educational needs is an absolute priority for the Department.
My Department is aware of pressures for school places for the 2024/25 school year in North Kildare. As part of planning for September 2024, data on applications for admission has been received by the department from post-primary schools across areas of known enrolment pressure including the School Planning Areas of Maynooth, Naas, Celbridge, Newbridge, Naas, Kildare and Prosperous_Clane.
The sharing of this data has been very effective in the identification of school place requirements across the areas. In the majority of areas across Kildare, through the work of schools, patrons, management bodies and the Department, there are sufficient school places available to meet the needs of children in the area. The Department is working with schools and patrons to make additional places available in a small number of areas where a need has been identified. To date, of the above School Planning Areas, additional 1st year places have been made available in Maynooth and Celbridge which has ensured there is sufficient capacity for September 2024 to meet the needs of all the local children. The Department has also been made aware of existing capacity within Naas, and has had positive engagement from a patron regarding the provision of additional first year places if the existing capacity is not sufficient. The Department also continues to work with a patron to ensure that a small number of children in the Prosperous_Clane School Planning Area are provided with a first year place, further to additional places that have already been made available in Prosperous.
The Deputy will appreciate that there can often be significant overlap across areas and schools and the nature of the admissions processes is quite complex. As a result there can be multiple iterations, where applicants may accept a place but subsequently be offered and accept a place at a second school, freeing up capacity at the first school accepted. In that context, while some applicants may not yet have received an offer of a school place for 2024/25, families can be assured that all children who require a school place will be provided with one. The Department is continuing to work with schools and patrons to ensure that there are sufficient school places available, and to put any required solutions in place. This includes engagement in areas which were not included in the more detailed data sharing arrangements for 2024/25. As part of this engagement with patrons, the Department is also collaboratively planning towards 2025/26 and future years, as part of forward planning generally.
The Department has invested significantly in schools in County Kildare over recent years. Under the National Development Plan, a total of almost €250m has been invested in schools in County Kildare over the last five years. This investment has focused on provision of additional capacity to cater for its increasing population and there are further significant projects in our pipeline including for the North Kildare area.
These projects include recently completed new school buildings in Naas. Additionally, a number of further new school buildings and extensions are at construction or planned in Prosperous_Clane School Planning Area. The project to provide for 1,000 pupils at St. Farnan’s is currently at Stage 2b and the project at Scoil Mhuire is to provide additional classrooms, 2 science labs, 5 mainstream classrooms and 4 classroom SEN base is at Stage 1.
The Capital Programme details the school projects that are being progressed under Project Ireland 2040. The current status of large-scale projects being delivered under Project Ireland 2040, may be viewed on the Department's website at, www.gov.ie and this information is updated regularly. In addition, a list of large-scale projects completed from 2010 to date may also be viewed on the website.
The picture in relation to school place requirements is very dynamic, noting that children may also move into an area during the course of the school year (including from overseas). This is a particular issue in parts of the country where expansion of residential development has been contributing to mid-year demand for places.
In limited cases where an appropriate school place is not immediately available, an application may be made to the Department of Education’s Home Tuition Grant Scheme. Home tuition is not an alternative to a school placement and is provided in very limited and specific circumstances. By its nature, it is intended to be a short term intervention.
One of the reasons why home tuition might be required for a period is to allow time for a school transport solution to be put in place so that a child can avail of a school placement. There are currently 11 pupils in County Kildare who are in receipt of Home Tuition Grants due to not having a school place and while school placement solutions are being worked through.
Department officials will continue to work with schools and patrons to ensure that there is appropriate provision for all students in the North Kildare School Planning Areas for the 2024/25 school year and into the future.
