Eight new classes for Quin school

The Department of Education and Skills has advised the bishop of Killaloe and the board of management of Scoil na Mainistreach in Quin that it proposes to provide eight additional classrooms in a standalone building on the school site by 2013. 
The announcement comes following a 10-year battle by Quin National School to improve and extend its facilities to meet the needs of its rapidly expanding community.
In the letter issued by the department to the board of management of Quin National School it stated that it had considered the position of the school in meeting projected pupil enrolment increases into the future.
“In this regard, the department considers that eight additional mainstream classrooms with appropriate ancillary accommodation should be provided to the school to allow it to grow to a 12-classroom facility and that this accommodation would be provided as a standalone building on the school site. It is projected that this accommodation will be needed by September 2013,” the letter stated.
Speaking about the development, school principal Anne Fitzpatrick said it is “a fantastic achievement” for the school and in particular for the board of management, which is nearing the end of its term.
“We are delighted because it’s a lovely closure to this board of management who is just completing its term and one of the key goals and objectives of this board was that we would achieve the extension to the school, so this is a wonderful and fitting closure,” Ms Fitzpatrick explained.
Although it was hoped the building works could be undertaken and completed for new enrollments in September 2012, the department has indicated that the accommodation will not be needed until September 2013.
“It is a standalone building that they are recommending, and so I would assume they are talking about a two-storey structure on the site but we would be hoping that they would link that in some way to the current building. A lot of money has been put into this building already through summer works schemes in order to prepare for the extension. So the board of management had that put in place and was very proactive in putting that in place so that when the extension came, the preparatory work had been done,” she explained.
The school was given a devolved grant in June 2011 to replace one classroom and two learning support rooms, however Ms Fitzpatrick explained that the school’s architect pointed out that it would be “very cost ineffective” as a school to apply for a single storey structure going forward as the school would need a two-storey structure.
Since then, the school has been in discussion with the department with a view to finding a cost effective long-term solution going into the future. Arising from these discussions the department wrote to the school’s board of management and Bishop Kieran O’Reilly on Friday last, November 11 tabling this project.
The board subsequently wrote to the department formally accepting their proposal of extending the school by way of eight additional classrooms as a standalone structure and ancillary accommodation.
“It has been an awful long struggle because the former principal, Tomás Ó Síochán really started this programme back in 2001 and when I was appointed in 2005, we put in applications for major capital works. Really we have been pressing since then and this board have been pressing very hard. Even the local inspectors recently, as part of the whole school evaluation, did indicate that the school wasn’t fit for purpose and I feel that was a major coup really. That was very evident in the school report and that was acknowledged by the local inspectors,” Ms Fitzpatrick explained.
She added that she hoped to get this project “moving” and an application is already with Clare County Council for a two-storey structure.
Speaking about the announcement Daragh Hassett, chairperson of Scoil na Mainistreach’s board of management said the department’s announcement is good news for the school.
“We’ve a lot of work put into it for the last 10 years. There were so many false dawns in relation to funding being made available and I suppose the tightening of budgets coincided with an explosion of the population in Quin village and the area because of the close proximity to Shannon. The principal and the staff and the board kept battling away and that has paid off in the end. The facilities are very poor, they are substandard and that is the same in a lot of schools, Quin is no different but I think all we are getting is basic and adequate facilities that every child in the country deserves. Particular gratitude should go to the previous school principal Tomás Ó Síochan, who would have started the fight and to Anne Fitzpatrick who has kept that going,” Mr Hassett said.
He added that work that the community and the parish had done to assist and provide ancillary facilities would also pay off when the additional classrooms come on stream.
“The parish and the village have dug deep into their own pockets to provide a playing facility for the children and also an Astroturf facility. That has all happened without any department help so it’s great now that it will sit and marry very well with the new school. It is a little bit disappointing that it (the development) is not happening on time for the new school term in 2012 but you can rest assured we will hold the department to their word; we won’t be taking any broken promises,” Mr Hassett concluded.
Meanwhile Clare Fine Gael TD Joe Carey said it is “a very good day for the community in Quin and surrounding areas”.
“The local school authorities have battled for a long time to have their case heard. I was happy to take their case to the heart of Government as I believe the particular demands in terms of pupil numbers, both present and projected, together with the sheer lack of space in Quin deserved special attention.
“Thankfully, the department and Minister for Education agreed and have made a decision to proceed with the development of an additional eight classrooms in Quin to meet the huge pressure there in terms of pupil numbers. This is wonderful news for Quin, for the school itself and the pupils and parents who depend on it. I want to pay tribute to the school principal Anne Fitzpatrick and the board of management for their tireless work to arrive at this point,” he concluded.