Ballyfermot parents fearful over future of local schools

Ballyfermot parents fearful over future of local schools

By Maurice Garvey

PARENTS in Ballyfermot have raised concerns for the future of schools on the Dominican campus, after discovering an enrolment ban in one school, and a decrease of classes in another.

One mother tried to enrol her son into second class at De La Salle for next September, but was denied.

Ballyfermot Resource Centre01

Meanwhile, parents were told at a meeting in St Michael’s last week, that three classes would be combined into two larger classes next year.

The four Dominican schools and 1,000 pupils in De La Salle, St Michaels, St Gabriels and St Raphael’s – were initially going to be amalgamated into two co-educated facilities in 2015.

After sustained protests by parents and a number of teachers, the Archdiocese of Dublin deemed the plan was “not tenable.”

St Michael’s, St Raphael’s and St Gabriel’s were allowed to apply for change of status, which all three did, and they can now keep their students from second to sixth class.

However, De La Salle remains a boy’s school, leading to fears by parents that the school is being “starved out of existence.”

Parent Donna Finnegan said: “A few of us wanted to enrol our kids in De La Salle, but we were told there was a ban. Parents were bullied last year not to send their kids to De La Salle, under the implied threat that if it closed, we wouldn’t get our kids back into the other schools.

“There is much better and bigger facilities in De La Salle, including bigger playground, pitches, and new autism units.”
Ms Finnegan sent a letter of complaint to the Archbishop Diarmuid Martin.

In response, the Archdiocese said the De La Salle parents association did not support the school for 2015/16, and it is “parents making choices where to send their kids to school.”

This is disputed by the Stop Amalgamation of Ballyfermot Schools parents group, who say the reply attempts to blame them.

Martin Walsh, from the parents group, said: “The reply states we gave assurances that parents would enrol their boys. We gave no such assurance. In fact, the opposite is the case.

Mr Walsh feels the Archdiocese are “passing the buck”, and neither parent that The Echo spoke to could understand clearly who is enforcing the enrolment ban.

“St Michael’s is a DEIS Band 1 school, which gets additional funding to keep a low ratio of pupils to teachers,” said Mr Walsh.
The Archdiocese had not responded to The Echo at the time of going to print.

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