TD says principals are afraid to speak out
LOCAL school principals have said the staffing and financial pressures they are under are not sustainable, according to Social Democrats party leader and TD for Cork South West, Holly Cairns.
‘Principals from primary schools across West Cork have been very clear with my office that the financial pressure put on them is unsustainable,’ she said, adding that 70% of primary schools across the country are now running at a deficit.
‘Concerns raised with me from principals range from being unable to afford cleaners and caretakers, having to fundraise for basic utilities, and having to resort to asking parents for voluntary contributions in order to make ends meet,’ said the Skibbereen-based party leader.
‘Many feel that they cannot speak publicly about the issues affecting their school for fear enrolment numbers will go down and the problems will only worsen from there. This is causing burnout, and 75% of principals have considered quitting,’ she said.
‘I raised these concerns directly with the Tánaiste, and was shocked at the unwillingness of the government to engage with the concerns. The reality is that principals do not have the funding, the staff or the resources they need. And it is affecting the education of students in West Cork and across the country.’
She added that she has appealed to the Minister for Education to engage with principals directly, so she can hear the issues they are facing and treat them with the urgency that they deserve.
Deputy Cairns also said that access to special educational supports falls far below what is needed in West Cork. The lack of forward planning in the system means that children with additional educational needs are being failed, she said, in a statement.
‘Every week distressed parents from West Cork contact my office to detail how they are fighting and struggling to get their children the education and the support they need. It is clear that across West Cork there are not enough special needs assistants or special education classes available,’ she added.
She said a mother recently told her how one of her twins has Down Syndrome and has had a full-time special needs assistant in a mainstream primary school in West Cork since they were in junior infants. So it came as a huge shock to the family to find out that while one child will be entitled to a place in the local secondary school, their twin with Down Syndrome is not guaranteed a place.
‘For children with additional needs, the transition to secondary school can take years. And now this child could be separated from their twin and all the classmates they have grown up with for the last seven years – all because the Department of Education does not forward-plan.
‘Schools only being allowed to consider the needs of the children who apply in October for the following September is just not good enough, and it is failing children every day around West Cork,’ she said.
