'Frustrated' Cork school feels abandoned after 'lucky dip' draw for school warden

The Cork Educate Together NS on Grattan St congratulated Gaelscoil Peig Sayers and Scoil Ursula on their allocation of school wardens

Maura O'Riordan, Principal of Cork Educate Together NS, with children and parents protesting at the dangerous crossing outside the school on Grattan Street earlier this year. Picture: Larry Cummins

A city centre school campaigning for increased road safety on the surrounding streets says it feels abandoned after being excluded from a school warden selection process.

The board of management of Cork Educate Together NS in Cork city has now called an emergency meeting to discuss its next steps.

“This latest development is beyond comprehension, deeply frustrating and disappointing,” the school said in a statement. “We feel betrayed by our elected representatives and utterly abandoned by Cork City Council.

“We have been patient and have placed our trust in our elected representatives only to learn that the system is broken, not fit for purpose and, it would seem, incapable of correcting policies and procedures that are clearly failing.” 

It follows the allocation of two new school wardens following what Cork City Council described as “an impartial and evidence-based approach”. Secondary schools were ruled out from the outset, and a subgroup chose 26 schools for detailed consideration.

The subgroup then excluded schools with less than 101 students and schools with existing pedestrian or controlled crossings to produce a shortlist of five from which names of the two schools to secure a warden, Gaelscoil Peig Sayers and Scoil Ursula/Ursuline Primary School, were pulled out of hat.

The Cork Educate Together NS on Grattan St, which staged protests early last year to secure traffic calming measures outside their school after being denied a warden, said the health and safety of their students had been effectively reduced to a “lucky dip”.

They congratulated Gaelscoil Peig Sayers and Scoil Ursula but said following a series of meetings with city officials and councillors last year, they were assured that the crossing would be upgraded, but nothing has happened yet.

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“Based on our school's location and the wholly inadequate safety provision currently in place, assurances were given that, if funding for traffic wardens were increased, our school would be viewed as a priority and favourably considered," the school said.

“Our school community was asked to trust the process and to 'read between the lines'. “Funding was increased in November 2022 for two additional school traffic wardens. But the lucky beneficiaries’ names were picked out 'of a hat'. 

“To compound our frustration we learned our school wasn’t considered worthy of inclusion in this lottery. Our understanding of the reason for our exclusion: the presence of the wholly inadequate and frequently ignored pedestrian crossing on Grattan Street.

"What makes this situation even more puzzling is the fact that many schools in Cork city have the benefit of push-button traffic lights as well as a school warden."