New term at Cork special school postponed due to construction delays
Pupils at St Killian's special school in Mayfield in 2021 along with their dog. Due to delays in procurement, works due to be started at the Cork school in June and ready by the beginning of the new term have yet to be completed. File picture: Dan Linehan
Children due to start at a special school in Cork city next week have been told their back-to-school date is expected to be postponed for at least eight weeks due to “unavoidable” delays.
Parents of 18 children due to start at three new special classes at St Killian's Special School in Mayfield were informed last week of the news.
Due to delays in procurement, works due to be started in June and ready by the beginning of the new term have yet to be completed.
In a message to parents, the school said it expects the project will be completed by the end of October. In the interim, all affected students may apply for home tuition.
“Once again, it feels as though children who do not attend mainstream classes are not a priority for the Department of Education," said Sinn Féin TD for Cork North-Central Thomas Gould.
"We saw similar issues in 2021 with the opening of the school in Carrigaline. The Department of Education cannot promise children school places that they cannot deliver on time," he added.
“This is another year, due to delays in construction, that children in mainstream classes will return to school in Cork while some children with disabilities are still awaiting a start date. It is not good enough.
"This does not appear to be the fault of the school, its staff, or any of these parents.
A spokesman for the Department of Education said it has a significant programme in place to assist schools when it comes to additional capacity, including in respect of facilitating the establishment of special classes.
"There have been unavoidable delays in the delivery of some of this additional accommodation due to multiple factors, including construction sector pressures," he said. Where delays have occurred, the department is working closely with school authorities to keep them appraised of the project timelines, he added.
"The department will continue to prioritise special educational needs provision and the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) is working to ensure that special educational supports required by schools are put in place."
In a statement, the school's board of management said it has worked extensively on the project. "Unfortunately due to multiple circumstances beyond the control of the school the project has been delayed. During this time extensive work has been undertaken throughout the summer holiday by the school to try to mitigate this situation.
"St Killian's has a long tradition of supporting pupils with multiple educational needs and we are very proud of the excellent and multi-faceted education provision available to our pupils.
"We look forward to the prompt completion of the project and will continue to do whatever can be done to enrol our new students as soon as possible."
