‘Questions to answer’ on autism provision

A dispute has broken out between Seán Sherlock, the junior minister for education, and a school board of management over how three children with special needs ended up being taught in the windowless storeroom of a new €4.2m school.

Mr Sherlock maintained yesterday that the school board of Rushbrooke NS, Cobh, Co Cork, had questions to answer.

He claimed the board had written to the Department of Education in April, while the new school was under construction, saying “there was adequate provision for three ASD [autism spectrum disorder] classrooms”.

Mr Sherlock said he had been in touch with the three children’s parents — one of whom has withdrawn her child from class in protest.

“So I think to get to the bottom of this”, said Mr Sherlock, “we need to get clarity from the board of management in relation to how this has been dealt with historically and in relation to how children were enrolled from 2009 onwards”.

A statement from the department said the long- term projected staffing for the school was agreed as a principal, 24 mainstream teachers, and two ASD units — each accommodating six pupils.

The school wrote to the department in February advising that it had enrolled an additional junior infants class in 2009 and now had a principal, 25 class teachers, and 15 ASD pupils enrolled in the school, and requested the building brief for the school to be revised.

School principal DónalÓ Ciarán said the board had requested that two rooms be converted to classrooms while the school was under construction, but the department refused this.

He said the department offered the school the use of existing prefabs, which they refused because they did not want the pupils segregated outside the new building.

Mr Ó Ciarán said the 30sq ft storeroom when converted, would provide the three children with far more space per child than students enjoy in mainstream classes.

He said he had spoken with the school’s builders and was hoping to send the department a request on Monday for emergency funding for converting the storeroom.

Mr Sherlock was in East Cork with Ruairi Quinn, the education minister, for the opening of the €825,000 Colton Building at Midleton College.

The block includes home economics and IT rooms, and is named in honour of the school’s board chairman, Church of Ireland Bishop Paul Colton.

Simon Thompson, the school’s principal said that, despite declines in numbers attending many fee-paying schools, Midleton College’s first-year intake of 68 was its largest ever and it has over 120 applications for entry next year. He said the school funded €700,000 of the €1.3m cost of the unit.

Mr Quinn also opened a €500,000 extension at Mount Mercy College, Bishopstown.