I can confirm to the Deputy that the school referred to submitted an application for funding for the provision of additional classroom accommodation following the allocation of a further mainstream teacher for the coming school year.
In its application, the school advised my Department that the accommodation available to the school includes a General Purpose room and also a Multi-Purpose Room, which the school has rented for pre-school provision.
My Department has been prepared to facilitate the use of school premises during the school day, for purposes other than regular school business, provided that the school's current and future accommodation needs are not compromised. In that regard, where additional accommodation is required in a school, any accommodation used for purposes other than primary school provision must revert to mainstream use as soon as the need arises. The school in question was advised therefore by my Department that it was not possible to accede to its request for an additional classroom and the school authorities were advised that the Multi-Purpose room must revert to mainstream use.
It is open, however, to the Patron/school owner to consider other options, should it wish, to facilitate a pre-school operator on the school site. This could include exploring the possibility of granting a pre-school operator permission to place temporary accommodation on the school site, with all associated costs met by the pre-school operator.
