Educate Together

6541

So all over the media today is a story about how the Castlebar branch of Educate together was hard done by the Department of Education. I have never heard such crap and once again am embarrassed by the light its cast Castlebar in. The fact of the matter is that a school and grounds were offered the the concept that is Educate together. It is up to the people of Educate together to get there building in order.
What is the point in running to the national media. The spokesman for the campaign in Castlebar comes across as an idiot.

gaius c

16 catholic schools in Castlebar and the new educate together is 8km outside the town.

That's the definition of lip service.

Peregrinus

gaius c wrote: »

16 catholic schools in Castlebar and the new educate together is 8km outside the town.

That's the definition of lip service.

Well, it's worth pointing out that to get up to 16 Catholic schools you have to cast a net that's rather more than 8km from Castlebar. A good number of those 16 schools are as far, or further, from Castlebar than the school which ET is turning down. In Castlebar itself there are three Catholic schools.

nuac

How many were interested in Educate Together in the Castlebar areas?

nuac

On Pat Kenny now

naughto

It sounds like they want the school in Castlebar and no where else

6541

They make us Mayo people out to be fools ! I am not sure about this educate together movement, something does not sit well with me about them.

FrStone

Considering less than a handful of schools in the whole state had a majority of parents wanting to change patronage after the school patronage survey it's a bit of a farce that all these schools are being pushed through.

6541

I wonder is there something else going on, a different agenda.

Xenji

This is the building it is proposed to be in, not sure if this is an old picture or have they done work on it since it was taken.



http://www.thejournal.ie/primary-school-educate-together-2294731-Aug2015/

FrStone

Xenji wrote: »

This is the building it is proposed to be in, not sure if this is an old picture or have they done work on it since it was taken.



http://www.thejournal.ie/primary-school-educate-together-2294731-Aug2015/

Well they have gotten land and a building for free it was obvious some work would have to go into it... Even though it's the location that educate together are giving out about,so they obviously knew renovations would have to happen.

One wonders why they accepted the site and are only refusing it now

RMDrive

Where is that building located?

SwanV

Educate Together is state funded the same as any church patronage school. The Department of Education pay for the building, the resources, they also pay the staff.
I don't know what you mean by ' They got a free building and land'

Xenji

RMDrive wrote: »

Where is that building located?

It is the old Burren NS, it has been closed for the last 20 years or so.

RMDrive

Xenji wrote: »

It is the old Burren NS, it has been closed for the last 20 years or so.

Thanks. Is it out near the booster station?

Quadrature

The people of Castlebar or Mayo have nothing to do with this, so less of the feeling hard done by and playing the victim of media coverage!. The only decision makers in this are the Catholic Church and the Dept of Education.

It's the children of Castlebar who don't want a religious ethos education are being denied a proper public school and that reflects badly on the government, not the local community as there is no local authority or local democratic oversight of this in mayo.

It's the minister who should be handing their head in shame about this, not the people of Mayo who have no input into these decisions at all.

This is all down to a legacy of not having a modern public education system. It's as relevant an issue in Dublin or Cork cities as Castlebar or rural Mayo.

FrStone

SwanV wrote: »

Educate Together is state funded the same as any church patronage school. The Department of Education pay for the building, the resources, they also pay the staff.
I don't know what you mean by ' They got a free building and land'

Well generally, any church patronage school, would have paid for and owned the land the school is built on. Educate Together for land transferred to them, they didn't spend a penny.

SwanV

FrStone wrote: »

Well generally, any church patronage school, would have paid for and owned the land the school is built on. Educate Together for land transferred to them, they didn't spend a penny.

Historically yes. I'd say very few if any new school builds though. I'm sure this original school was moved to a lovely state funded new building.
Educate Together would never spend money , they are state funded. It's a state school.
The issue here was that the department initially said it was a temporary building to house the school.

nuac

FrStone wrote: »

Well generally, any church patronage school, would have paid for and owned the land the school is built on. Educate Together for land transferred to them, they didn't spend a penny.

There was a substantial local contribution to many national schools

Peregrinus

It's on the Windy Gap at Bofeenaun, about five miles north of Castlebar town.

Peregrinus

SwanV wrote: »

Historically yes. I'd say very few if any new school builds though. I'm sure this original school was moved to a lovely state funded new building.

No, it was closed, and the remaining pupils entered other schools.

SwanV wrote: »

Educate Together would never spend money , they are state funded. It's a state school.
The issue here was that the department initially said it was a temporary building to house the school.

As far as I know, they're still saying that. Most new schools open in temporary accommodation, moving to permanent accommodation when they are big enough. For obvious reasons, it takes at least seven years for a new primary school to reach it's "stable" size.

The issue, SFAIK, is not temporary vs. permanent; it's in Castlebar vs. outside Castlebar. ET is asking for the Dept to find them temporary accommodation in Castlebar. The Dept is saying no, we've got this building five miles out of town, we'll tart it up, that will do you for temporary accommodation. ET is saying that's not acceptable to parents.

Reading between the lines, a sufficient number of the pre-enrolled parents have said they won't put their children in the school if it's based here that the number of pupils actually attending the school will not be enough to make it viable. And the focus of the dissatisfaction seems to be the location of the building, not its condition.

StudentDad

This whole thing stinks of corruption and politics. 'Oh they want a school do they? Well we'll fix that. They can have a hole in the ground that we abandoned twenty years ago! Can't be giving parents a real choice now can we? We'd lose too much money if this notion really gets going. Then where would we be?'

The bald truth is that more and more parents want an education for their children that is not couched in any particular religious ethos.

The sooner this debacle is sorted the better.

SD

naughto

The smell of election off this is bad they have turned it down now but when an election is called it I'll be sorted out very quick to buy the votes. They could use the only town council building if they wanted to

Peregrinus

naughto wrote: »

The smell of election off this is bad they have turned it down now but when an election is called it I'll be sorted out very quick to buy the votes. They could use the only town council building if they wanted to

ET has said that suitable temporary accommodation alternatives are available in Castlebar town. They haven't, SFAIK, gone into detail about what premises they are thinking of, but that may be one of them.

Of course, the Town Council building doesn't belong to the Dept of Education; they would have to lease or buy it, plus do whatever was necessary to fit it out as a school premises. I suspect this comes down to money; the Dept of Ed reckon they can recondition the old Burren NS more cheaply than they can provide and fit out any suitable premises in Castlebar town.

(Providing premises for a primary school in an urban area isn't straightforward; a primary school has to have a playground, and a lot of otherwise suitable urban buildings don't have the necessary open space attached. I don't know whether the Town Council building does.)

Xenji

Cllr. Frank Durcan has raised an objection over the proposed Marsh House location with Bord Pleanála, citing 19 issues and deeming the school to be "Elitist".

Coillte_Bhoy

Xenji wrote: »

Cllr. Frank Durcan has raised an objection over the proposed Marsh House location with Bord Pleanála, citing 19 issues and deeming the school to be "Elitist".

He was on Matt Cooper show yesterday evening 'debating' the issue, came across as a bumbling incoherent out of touch idiot tbh, a total embarrassment. He has no idea what the concept of ET is.

zl1whqvjs75cdy

Coillte_Bhoy wrote: »

He was on Matt Cooper show yesterday evening 'debating' the issue, came across as a bumbling incoherent out of touch idiot tbh, a total embarrassment. He has no idea what the concept of ET is.

Heard that interview. Jesus he came across as a total clown. Was embarrassing to listen to.

voz es

Marsh house is no location for a school in my opinion. It is more suitable for a museum than a school.

Stheno

Jasmine Teeny Cabinetmaker wrote: »

Heard that interview. Jesus he came across as a total clown. Was embarrassing to listen to.

I'm not from Mayo but was listening and thought the same

nuac

From the traffic and parking POV Marsh House is an unsuitable and indeed dangerous place for a school.

voz es

It would be nice to see a 1798 museum in it.