'A travesty': Cork northside school closes special education centre after engineer's report deems it structurally unsafe

Teachers will be forced to work in landings and corridors after Scoil Oilibhéir on the northside of Cork city was forced to close their special education centre as it has become unsafe for pupils and staff.

Newly elected TD for Cork North Central, Independent Ireland’s Ken O’Flynn, told The Echo that the news was “shocking” and “a travesty that speaks volumes about the ongoing neglect and mismanagement within our education system”.

The primary school in Ballyvolane which has 550 pupils, 42 teachers and twelve special needs assistants, has been waiting seven years for construction of a new unit.

Communication sent to parents explains: “Since 2011 we have been pursuing a 2 stage building programme in our school with the Department of Education (DE). The first stage was successfully completed in 2016 when we opened our wonderful 6 classroom extension.

“Phase 2 of the programme was sanctioned by the DE in 2017 and is to consist of a state of the art, 2 classroom ASD Unit on ground floor level and a new Cill Barra (SEN Centre) on the first floor.

“Since 2017 we have been consistently engaging with the DE to sanction the funding and allow us to proceed with Phase 2 of the building programme.” 

The school explained: “As the years have progressed, and the DE has delayed approving the funding for Phase 2, Cill Barra has deteriorated significantly. It is a prefabricated building that is over 35-years-old."

ENGINEER'S ASSESSMENT

“A recent consultant engineer's assessment has deemed that Cill Barra is no longer structurally sound and therefore unsafe for teachers and pupils to work in. We took the decision on Monday, to permanently close Cill Barra on health & safety grounds.

Calling it “a hugely disappointing decision that we have been forced to take”, the school said that “in 2024 no child or teacher should have to work in a building in such a poor state as Cill Barra.

“Our teachers will now be sharing teaching spaces with other teachers, working in corridors and landings because the DE has repeatedly delayed a decision to allow us to progress with a building programme that was originally sanctioned in 2017,” the school communication explained.

Systems have been put in place to ensure that children who benefit from Cill Barra will still receive the same level of support, and the school assured parents that staff will all work hard to ensure that the impact of closing Cill Barra will be kept to an absolute minimum.

The communication concluded: "Your children and our teachers deserve the very best of conditions in which to work and learn and that is what we will continue to insist on."

Mr O’Flynn added that he has written directly to the Minister for Education, Norma Foley, demanding immediate action to expedite the funding process necessary for the redevelopment of Cill Barra.

He said: “The Minister must understand that every day of indecision is a day of suffering for the children who depend on these vital services.” 

A spokesperson for the Department of Education said that the school’s development project has evolved over the years in response to the changing needs of the school.

Following a design report n 2023 the Department said additional information was requested in April 2024 was provided in September and is currently being reviewed from both a technical and cost perspective "in accordance with the requirements of the public Spending Code as part of the necessary due diligence on all capital projects".

“It is expected that this review will be completed next week and the school authority will be then updated.” The spokesperson added that when informed of the closure of part of the school this week, they made the school aware of the availability of the Emergency Works scheme to address any immediate health and safety issues.