A SCHOOL in Bantry, which refused places for five children with disabilities, has rowed back on that decision and confirmed the children will be enrolled next September.
One of the parents, Ann-Marie McCarthy, spoke to The Southern Star about the stress that the long-wait, and the initial refusal, caused her and other families.
She said she had raised the issue with the principal Marian Carey five months ago, but on Tuesday November 12th she received an email from the school saying: ‘We currently have no available places in our special classes in our special classes but we are working towards a solution.’
The next day, the mother, other parents, and the community rallied and arranged a protest meeting for Monday November 18th.
However, by the Thursday evening, parents received further notification that their children would be accepted.
Ann-Marie, the mother of twins – one of whom, Lily, had already been accepted for mainstream classes at Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí – said it was Senator Tim Lombard who initially informed her of the decision.
‘I got a phone call from him saying the school had been instructed to accept us, so all five places were then offered on Thursday evening.
‘No details were given to us about how the spaces were going to be made,’ said Ann-Marie, who is delighted that her other daughter, Jasmine, will now be able to attend special classes in the secondary school.
Commenting on the stress of the situation, and the three-day turnaround, she said: ‘I feel like I lived two years in those three days. It was very intense.
‘There was huge community support. People who have been in school with my twins, even since pre-school, could see it was not fair.
‘Every child has a right to education,’ she added. ‘It is obligatory to send your child to be educated, so to send us a letter saying there is no place, and offering no plan as to what we were to do, was outrageous.
‘We are so happy that we got a resolution, but the lack of planning from the NCSE has let everyone down. The stress of not knowing what the future holds – the uncertainty – is such a heavy burden to carry for all that time.
‘I know our situation was resolved in three days but there are people all around this country who haven’t had resolution, and people who won’t get resolution. That’s not good enough,’ she concluded.
Another parent, Conor Cronin, said he is delighted that his son, Aaron, is one of the five children to be given a place, but he said they are still waiting on approval for two more.
‘The turnaround was amazing,’ he said. ‘There was a lot of involvement of politicians and there was a big climb-down. An email came on Thursday afternoon, all of a sudden, offering us places.
‘It’s great that it is resolved but it is a pity that you have to fight for a place in post primary school for your son,’ he said.
‘I am delighted and relieved but it is still disappointing that there was no planning from the NCSE.
‘All of these children with special needs have been in the school system for eight years.’
Conor Cronin said he is aware, from an email from the school principal Marian Carey, that Coláiste Pobail Bheanntraí was initially built to accommodate 700 students and that there are now 762 students enrolled with more growth projected over the next two years.
The rate of growth is likely to correlate with a need for more special classes because there are currently seven special classes in the local feeder primary schools, plus two more that have been sanctioned.
In correspondence with the parents, the principal informed them that she had submitted an application for an extension to the school that had the backing of Cork ETB and the school’s board of management to cater for two more special classes and the growth in numbers at the school.
And the principal urged them to ‘put pressure on your local politicians as they canvass in the next few weeks for approval of this extension to cater for the needs of all our local children.’
