Delay for new €13M Holy Family School in Cootehill
The new €13M Holy Family School in Cootehill, due for completion for the new academic year in September 2020, will not be finished until early next year at least due to delays in building work caused by COVID-19 restrictions.
It also remains uncertain, with continuing concerns over infection, whether many pupils, some of whom would be classed as vulnerable and with underlying health conditions, will be able to return even then.
“We’re not exactly sure how it’s going to look come September because obviously the virus is out there and we have very, very vulnerable young children at our school,” says Rachel Moynagh, principal at the Holy Family School, which caters for young people with disabilities in counties Cavan and Monaghan.
Building of the new 26-classroom facility was halted three weeks ago. At that stage some of the windows had gone in and the roof was finished. “You could really see it take shape. It is very well progressed,” informs Rachel, adding that she and the design team were even considering finishes, fixtures and fittings for the new facility.
She’s hopeful, following the government’s announcement last Friday that some outdoor employment including construction can restart from May 18, that work can resume on the school.
“It will be slower now. I was talking to the contractor last week and we’re unsure how it will all impact, even with people coming on site. We’ll all be more wary,” she said.
Despite the set-back, Rachel and her school faculty are taking the short delay in their stride. Afterall, the school community has been pushing for a new school since the early 1970s and the file passed through the hands of 10 Minister for Education before finally getting the green light.
Rachel reveals that even the temporary prefab accommodation at Cootehill Business Park at Cornacarrow, while construction work is ongoing at the school site, is “way better than what we had” previously. “So we’ll make the best of what we have,” she states.
Currently, the HFS community has 168 pupils and 119 staff members. Much is being done behind the scenes to ensure continuity of class time despite the restrictions and lack of personal contact.
The confirmation from the Taoiseach Leo Varadkar that schools should reopen this September has allowed Rachel and her staff to “plan better”, in preparation or in consideration of contingency measures.
In the interim staff have embraced social media to overcome obvious hurdles, putting up four posts a day on a private school page for parents, including exercises to do at home with their little ones.
“Because it’s a private group parents too are putting up videos and photographs, which lets us see the progress being made as well, so it’s working well. It’s that personal contact without actually being there, so it’s brilliant both ways,” explains Rachel.
“If we do get back to school, and only some of our children will be there, that is something we will have to consider, and how do we manage that with maybe four children in a classroom and others on a monitor or what have you. How can we support both? It’s going to be difficult but these are the things we have to be ready to explore,” she adds.
Respite
The pandemic has impacted on respite services for families, Rachel acknowledges, following conversations with parents of young children living with severe/profound learning disabilities, moderate/multiple learning disabilities and autism.
“That’s gone at the minute, and I know even families with home support, they don’t want to bring anyone else into their home for fear of cross-infection. So even that support is gone. The thing is, when schools reopen, we can’t socially distance from our kids, that’s not an option, they’re completely dependent on us to care for them. The other thing is, if we wear PPE, would it frighten some children, or for others they’d be curious and touching your face. So there are lots of things to be considered, but our staff are fantastic, I’ll say that much. They’re brilliant at teasing things out and we’ll deal with those challenges, each and every one.”