Date: 26 April 2021
Green Party TD, Steven Matthews has received confirmation from the Department of Education that they will facilitate a meeting with representatives of the boards of St. Andrew’s National School, Bray and Temple Carrig School, Greystones regarding feeder school status.
Discussing the news, Deputy Matthews said:
“I’m delighted that this meeting has finally been confirmed between the Department and the two school boards. As parents who have been in touch with me from both schools will know, I have been pushing for this meeting to be confirmed for several months and recently asked Education Minister Norma Foley to ensure it was facilitated.
“There are longstanding issues at play here with regards to formal feeder status for St. Andrew’s and to me it seems like there has been a series of miscommunications and half communications that has led to frustration for parents and school management alike. Nobody is particularly at fault for this, but it needs to be cleared up. Now that this meeting has finally been confirmed with the Department, I hope that this will open clear lines of dialogue between both schools and a point of contact in the Department who will be able to deal with any concerns as they arise.
“As parents in Wicklow; and in particular around Greystones will know, there have been a series of issues in recent years regarding a lack of school places and forward planning. I am happy with the progress we have made on the site for the new secondary school and longer-term plans around Greystones Community College. There is new accommodation for local secondary schools in Wicklow which will provide some temporary relief but ultimately these school need permanent extensions. I am working to extend feeder status for St. Andrew’s to Temple Carrig, and as new schools accommodation is provided across the wider area, reducing capacity issues, I hope to see provision made for a limited number of St Andrews students.
“This is an issue that parents and school management have been working on for years and I hope that getting both boards of management and the Department of Education in the same room is the beginning of a path forward, concluded Deputy Matthews.
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