Educate Together can today confirm that Clonturk Community College and Killester Raheny Clontarf ETNS, two Educate Together schools on the northside of Dublin, are to move into new school buildings under a new Department of Education initiative.
A Department of Education and City of Dublin Education and Training Board (CDETB) educational infrastructure plan will establish permanent accommodation for 2,500 students across four north Dublin city schools, including Clonturk CC and Killester Raheny Clontarf ETNS.
- Clonturk Community College will move into a new state-of-the-art 1,000 student school building with high quality facilities for all academic and technical subjects as well as four specialist classrooms for students with additional educational needs at its current location in Whitehall in Dublin 9. Clonturk Community College is a partnership between CDETB and Educate Together which opened in 2016 in temporary accommodation on the Swords Road in Whitehall. City of Dublin ETB are patrons with Educate Together as trustee partners.
- Killester Raheny Clontarf ETNS which will be relocated to the Killester College of Further Education site as its permanent location and building project undertaken to facilitate its growth and expansion to 8 mainstream classrooms plus two classrooms for pupils with special education needs. Killester Raheny Clontarf ETNS opened in September 2019 in temporary accommodation in Suttonians Rugby Club on Station Road.
Speaking about the announcement, Emer Nowlan, CEO of Educate Together, said:
“It’s wonderful to see confirmation of permanent buildings for these two popular and fast-growing Educate Together schools. Operating in temporary accommodation is challenging for any developing school, given the confines posed by limited and inadequate spaces. These two school communities can now grow and expand to meet the demand for equality-based education in north Dublin city.”
Speaking about the announcement, the principal of Clonturk Community College, Wesleigh O’Hagan said:
“We are delighted with this announcement. Ours is a vibrant school community in which all students experience a sense of active participation and belonging. We are so looking forward to moving into a wonderful permanent building which will allow our students to continue to thrive in an atmosphere of respect and inclusivity.”
Speaking about the announcement, the principal of Killester Raheny Clontarf ETNS, Niamh O’Toole said:
“This is a great day for the pupils, staff and families of Killester Raheny Clontarf ETNS. We have worked tirelessly since we opened to create a thriving and inclusive school community and we are thrilled and excited to be able to continue that journey in a permanent home. I very much look forward to welcoming the children into our fabulous new school building in the years ahead.”
Educate Together welcomes this extensive plan to improve educational infrastructure benefitting children and adults across North Dublin City, and extends it thanks to the Department of Education, City of Dublin ETB and all who have worked on this project for the provision of buildings for these two schools.
Educate Together is very conscious of the challenges for new and developing schools operating in temporary accommodation. Noting that Clonturk Community College has spent six years in temporary accommodation, and that Killester Raheny Clontarf NS has been located outside its planning area since opening in 2019, Educate Together has called for improvements in our planning systems so that school communities have certainty in relation to their accommodation much sooner. In this regard, Educate Together continue to call for a cross-departmental review of the wider planning processes around school buildings and school sites.
Educate Together is committed to working with the Department and other stakeholders to improve current systems and process to ensure that suitable temporary and permanent accommodation is provided for schools in a timely fashion.
Visit the Educate Together website for more information: www.educatetogether.ie/campaigns/accommodation
