Dublin People - Educate Together petition for second level patronage

Home

News

Latest News

Educate Together petition for second level patronage

Thursday, 02 October 2008

NORTHSIDE teachers and parents rallied together last week to fight for Educate Together to be registered for secondary school patronage.
Hundreds of parents signed petitions at Educate Together schools such as that on the Navan Road and in Glasnevin on Thursday in an effort to put pressure on the Government to consider the body for future secondary schools.
Anne Phelan’s children attend the Educate Together school on the Navan Road. She believes that there needs to be a greater choice of schools to cater for the multi-cultural community.
“When it comes to secondary schools there are really only single choice, single sex schools despite the growing cultural diversity in areas such as Phibsborough,” she told Northside People.
“I have been very involved in the Local Area Plan for Phibsborough and I have been really pushing for the secondary school planned for the area to be designated for Educate Together.
“I would like my children to be able to go to a school which carries the same ethos as that in Educate Together.”
As principal of Glasnevin Educate Together, Attracta Hayden feels that children need to be better prepared for life in 21st century.
“Irish society has been undergoing huge social, economic and demographic change in recent decades,” she explained.
“Calls for a different approach to education, one which can better prepare young people for life in modern globalised Ireland, have come from bodies as diverse as Combat Poverty and Forfas.
“Therefore the need for an education system, such as that which Educate Together provides, promoting innovation, creativity, responsible citizenship, social inclusion and cohesion has never been greater.”
Local councillor Emer Costello (Lab) is on the board of management with the school on the Navan Road.
“I support the petition which we hope will put pressure on the Minister for Education,” she told Northside People.
“There really should be an Educate Together for the post-primary sector which could be catered for in the plans for Phibsborough.
“Parents rightly feel that they want their children to continue in the type of schooling which they received at primary level.”
A statement from Educate Together said that thousands of families are feeling increasing frustration that their right to choose the Educate Together ethos is being ignored.
“Ever since the first Educate Together primary school opened 30 years ago, pressure has been mounting on us to expand the successful model to second-level,” the statement read.
“With 12 new schools opening this year, and the number of pupils in the sector’s primary schools approaching 10,000, parents are becoming more vocal in their campaigns.”
Emer Nowlan, Second-level Project Manager with Educate Together explained that the body has already drawn up a second-level project.
“We are keen to implement the Educate Together ethos at second-level and are ready to open schools, either in partnership with other providers or on our own,” she said.
“There is great support for this move from parents, teachers and other interested parties in Irish education. We look forward to the opportunities that it presents for our organisation and for the system as a whole.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Education said that they were in the process of “identifying the area where significant additional accommodation will be required at primary and post-primary level for 2009 and onwards”.
“Factors under consideration include population growth, demographic trends, current and projected enrolments, recent and planned housing developments and the capacity of existing schools to meet demand for places,” it was stated.
“Having considered these factors, decisions will be taken on the means by which emerging needs will be met within an area.
“Educate Together applied to the Department for registration as a patron at post-primary level in December 2007.”
It was added: “The matter of registration as a patron at post primary level is currently under consideration.”

Vital youth project gets the chop

Thursday, 04 December 2008

Funding for the Opt-In programme, which has worked with hundreds of teenagers in Finglas, is being completely dropped due to economic cutbacks. The closure, which will take effect in the coming...
+ Full Story

Pupil in heartfelt plea for new school

Thursday, 04 December 2008

In 1999, the board of management at St Brigid’s National School in Palmerstown applied to the Department of Education for funding for the upgrading and modernisation of the building, which...
+ Full Story

FAS slammed over lengthy course wait

Thursday, 04 December 2008

In the week that the State agency has been pilloried for its misuse of taxpayers’ money, Noel Reid, from Donaghmede, has called for a complete overhaul of how FAS is run. However, a...
+ Full Story

Students to raise funds for life saving tests

Thursday, 04 December 2008

The Transition Year teenagers at St Kevin’s College, Finglas, are desperately seeking money so that the school’s students can get tested to identify the risk of Sudden Death...
+ Full Story