New principal and leadership team appointed to Cork special school

A new principal and leadership team have been appointed to Carrigaline Community Special School, which was closed for a number of days following an incident last month in which staff sustained injuries.

The school, which caters for students with a dual diagnosis of autism and an intellectual disability, was last year highlighted for its “alarming” pattern of suspensions.

The school closed on February 27 after an incident in which staff sustained injuries, before reopening on March 9. A number of parents have been attempting to raise serious concerns about issues at the school around staffing and services since 2024.

A letter from Cork Education and Training Board (ETB), seen by The Echo, says that as well as a new principal and leadership team, an additional administrative teaching post will “support the in-school leadership team in providing focused teaching support to individual classrooms and provide support to the in-school leadership team in fostering relationships with parents and statutory agencies”.

It is also understood that the National Council for Special Education will provide a full-time Behaviour Support Practitioner to the school and that the National Educational Psychological Service will continue working with the school and will prioritise casework for up to four students.

Raised in the Dáil

The issue of the closure was raised in the Dáil on Wednesday, with Cork North Central’s Ken O’Flynn saying that when the school reopened, it did so “excluding a different child and a parent who were not involved in the event that caused the closure”.

“This happened without lawful basis and was a breach of procedures,” he said.

“Does the Taoiseach accept that families are now being pushed towards reduced school hours and that Cork ETB has stated that it cannot meet its needs when it comes to some of the children enrolled in its care, despite their statutory obligations?

“In those circumstances, does the Taoiseach consider that Cork ETB is fit for purpose of that particular school and does he stand over the actions of the school? Will he now commit to an urgent independent intervention, including full-time orthopaedic supports and outline the immediate steps that are being taken to restore proper provisions to ensure that no child is denied their appropriate education?”

Confidence

In response, Micheál Martin, whose constituency the school is in, said that he has confidence in Cork ETB “in respect of special education”.

“A number of years ago, it stepped into the breach to establish the school to provide desperately needed places in an area where children could not get places at the time. We had to take action. For the long term, the ETB has a very significant role in special education across the country. That is my view.

“If we look at how it is evolving, some of the section 39 bodies have pulled back from education, so the State has to get more involved in this particular area. The ETBs’ structures are such that they have flexibility in terms of providing resources.

“On the specific case in Carrigaline, I have been in touch with the ETB, and I am fully aware of the difficulties and challenges that have occurred there. We are working with the ETB to provide additional resources to enable that school to operate as effectively as it can for the benefit of the young people who attend it.”