More than 200 people packed into Cushinstown Church for a meeting about the crisis at the local national school, days after Bishop Ger Nash issued a letter warning that he may have no option but to close the school.
icholas Roberts read out Bishop Nash’s letter at the start.
He said: “We have a grave situation in our school. Staff relations are at a point where there is no communication between staff, so the school cannot function effectively.”
He said the Department of Education, FORSA, the INTO, CPNS (Child Protection Notification System), all five of the county’s TDs and the Minister of Education are all aware of the situation at the school.
Mr Roberts said he and PJ Farrell met the bishop twice over recent weeks where they were fully briefed by the Bishop and Pat Goff, who was manager of the school up until Christmas, about the situation. “Pat Goff said a board of management needs to be put in place,” he said.
Calling on parents to nominate themselves to the board, Mr Roberts said: “We are here to get these issues sorted once and for all.”
He said Cushinstown was always known as an exceptional school, the envy of many in the district.
A microphone was passed around the church for parents of children attending the school – and anybody who would like to comment – to speak up.
Bridín Moloney said: “We have been begging for help for two years. An extremely experienced educator wasn’t able to. All of the advice we’ve been given is that only the bishop can ask the department to get involved. The only way to solve this is for the department to get involved. I am so disappointed that we are being asked to solve this as parents. We are not employers. We should not be involved in this process.”
Ms Moloney said the children are not being thought about.
“Last year children were crying going to school. These are issues that can only be solved by senior officials from the department. Getting another board of management involved is not going to work. All we are going to do is to push the can down the road. It’s really, really shameful!”
She said many parents have been calling other schools in the locality to try to get their children into them for the start of the next term. “We are on our knees! Would you please just ask the bishop to go to the department?” she said.
Feena Doyle said her son Fionn is in the ASD Unit. “I have emailed the Minister with responsibility for special needs and she has replied that she is getting her senior officer to look into the issues in the school. If that school closes, my son won’t get a place in an ASD unit anywhere as all the ASD classes are full. My son is not able for mainstream 100pc of the time.”
Some people called out the Bishop, questioning why he wasn’t at the meeting in his capacity as school manager.
Cian Moloney asked about the level of expertise required to be on the board of management.
Mr Roberts said: “We accept that there are terrible problems in the school. We need to be united outside the school as there is enough going on inside the school.”
Bridín Moloney said there was no one in attendance who has experience working as a psychologist and in conflict resolution.
“Do we need to bring our kids to the Bishop’s House and beg ‘can you please let us go to school without crying as we go past this church? We don’t learn anything anymore as there is such a bad atmosphere in school’.”
Joanne Maher has two children in the school and she said it was ‘a bit rich’ to ask parents to step up and solve the problem.
“Experienced, well capable people are not able to bring this to a resolution. When are people going to wake up to the fact that this cannot get resolved? I know there are 20 or 30 children who have been enrolled in other schools. This school is broken and everyone involved should hang their head in shame.”
Louise Walsh said: “There is obviously an awful lot of passion here in relation to the board of management. The education act requires that there is a board of management to run schools. The bishop has to put in place one. I understand that a lot of parents feel concerned that they are ill equipped to deal with the issues in the school. It’s not up to the parents personally to try and solve these issues.”
She accepted that other boards had tried to resolve the crisis in the past, adding: ‘maybe there are other systems that can be put in place that can be tried’.
“I just think it’s maybe defeatist in some regards. Maybe the WRC could be used to try and resolve disputes there. It’s not up to the board, specifically, to solve the problems. I think there is a way forward.”
Past Cushinstown NS parent’s association member, Sheila McAuliffe said she was shocked and horrified to see what was going on at the school.
“A number of years ago, an incident occurred in the school and the Department of Education sent in an inspector to do a whole school review. They met with the board, the teachers, the principal and the chairperson. I can’t understand why something like this isn’t happening. A whole review of the school is needed at this stage.”
She said: “There is plenty of blame to go around in that school; it’s not just a single person. Staff have already tried to air their grievances.”
A woman in attendance suggested appointing an interim board consisting of people who don’t live in the parish who could progress the matter.
“They may have the background and history required and this would allow procedures to go forward. It’s a huge ask to ask parents to step on board in a situation where there are ongoing challenges and difficulties.”
A mother of two children attending the school, said: “It cannot be underestimated the extent of the problems in the school. We have been told that the animosity is such in the school that we should fear for its future. This is going on and on but who is thinking of the children who are going in with pains in their tummies and coming back reporting that they have heard teachers arguing? This is an absolute disgrace!”
She said the professionals who are allowing the situation to go on are being paid to educate the children. “They should hang their heads in shame. Our children are losing another year of their education. They have gone through enough.”
A parent of a past pupil of the school, said she has removed her children from Cushinstown NS because the atmosphere was causing them so much stress.
“I took them out of the situation. It’s not the answer either. The kids have gone through so much. The parents have done so much. An interim board is a good idea. Will it resolve it? I don’t know. I don’t know what is to come for the kids who are crying going in to school this year. God help the kids. Is there any counselling available?”
She said: “Keeping the school open is the easy part, but to have it as a functioning school for the kids is going to be the hard part.”
Siobhan O’Connor said she has one child in the school and said the word toxic has become associated with the school over recent years.
“Our previous chair of the board of management repeatedly told us that the atmosphere in the school was toxic. Pat Goff told us the atmosphere was toxic. I am sick to the back teeth of this. I would volunteer (for the board) if I thought it would do any good. A lot of people have put a lot of effort into this. The children walk into that school and it’s like a death knell. There is no art work, no happiness, no smiling.
“In the past, Cushinstown school had spontaneous discos on the tarmac. There was happiness. It’s not something parents can fix. I am just so sick of this whole process. Can the bishop not come and promise to resolve this? No one is trying to blame anybody. I just want it fixed. Nobody is interested in blame.”
Expressing concern that if another manager comes in, the individual will be gone in six months and nothing will be progressed.
“The Department of Education knows what is going on in this school. Every TD in the county has been approached. I don’t care who is at fault. This is our local parish school and we are expected to send them in every day and there is no end in sight. I would just love an answer – please, somebody!”
Another mother said: “How dare they come into that school. They should be ashamed of their lives that we are all here tonight talking about this situation. It’s desperate what is going on. What happens the teachers posts if the school closes?” What is the ultimate consequence for them? This is going on for a long time. I run a private business and this would be in the Labour Court at this point. They would be put in a room and would have it sorted by now. You are talking public sector here. It’s not normal; it’s not the private sector.”
“I am not sure what can be done, save for the worst outcome for people here and that is to close the school.”
Breda Kinsella asked if the teachers involved were aware of the impact the conflict is having on pupils.
Mr Roberts said Mr Goff is submitting a report on the school to Bishop Nash this week. Joanne said: “Our children are living through a pandemic and to think of all this (going on) at the school as well.”
Responding to a call from Ms Moloney for the Bishop to attend a meeting with parents, Mr Roberts said he will ask him to attend a meeting.
One man in attendance said: “The problems in the school are not across the board. My children go and come home happy every day. Unless you get a board of management in place, we are going to be here in six months. The easiest thing in the world is we close the school but where are we going to send our children then? There are rumours that some people want the school to close so another kind of school can open in its stead.”
Mr Roberts said: “No problem is unsolvable. You have to have the will to do it. There are ways to solve this.”
An elderly woman in attendance said: “How can each child be held to ransom because they want to continue their education? We have been in a pandemic since March 2020 and we here in a small parish and children are being brought to school to have their whole wellbeing looked after. I think the people involved should have enough decency to walk away and be replaced and let the children have their education.”
A woman asked how the situation has been allowed to deteriorate so much. “With all of the emails sent over the last two years, expressing grievances, who is reading these things and allowing this to continue? There are health and safety issues. It’s the trauma of it all; going in to that and allowing kids to see what is going on. It’s pretty traumatic to move a child from one school to another but if a child is going in to that every day, do the child a favour and take them out,” she said.
A woman with a child who has an SNA at the school said she can’t. “If I could, I would. I don’t want the school to close. My other son went through the school and had a great seven years. Please try and do something.” Cushinstown PP Fr Sean Devereux said he agreed that the Department of Education needs to “step in”. He advised people in attendance to email the county’s five TDs and ask for the Department to get involved. Mr Roberts said a follow-up meeting will be held within a month.
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