'Nobody wants to see a child without a school place' Portlaoise full say principals

Portlaoise is still rapidly growing with new families moving into more houses springing up, but the town’s schools cannot keep pace, local principals have confirmed to the Leinster Express.

Principals of primary schools in Portlaoise met recently to discuss the shortage of places, after the Department of Education requested an update from them.

They found that most schools are experiencing a shortage of places.

Among them, Dermot O’Connor is Deputy Principal in the Holy Family Senior School in Portlaoise. It shares a campus with the Junior school and between them in Aghnaharna they have almost 1,400 students.

Mr O’Connor described the situation there.

“This campus is full. There is a waiting list for all classes. It is a rare day when someone doesn’t come to the door, or sends an email, asking for an application.

“In June the pressure is no different than at admission time in January.

“People are coming now looking for places for September. They tell us they have got accommodation or they are buying a new house, there’s new houses going up all around us. 

“A lot of them expect that when they see a school from the bedroom window, they can send their children there, but there isn’t space,” he said.

The Department of Education has told the LOETB that it will provide extra prefabs to existing schools at this time, instead of considering building another school. Read that story below.

The Portlaoise deputy principal said that this will not help. 

“Adding extra classrooms to this school will only add to the pressure of parking and traffic. There is a point when a school is too big from a management point of view.

“A new school seems the most logical solution. It took 15 years from the idea to moving children into this school. So for the children on the waiting list now, they will be in college by the time a new school would be built,” Mr O’Connor said.

He said it is not a matter of a year’s wait, but of spaces in each class. If for example 3rd class is full up to new students, it will still be full up a year later when it becomes 4th class, unless some of those students have left.

The Holy Family schools opened in 2017 but were already at capacity then.  

“We had planning for 32 classrooms but the department only gave money for 26. We have our library divided now into two fully insulated classrooms. We actually never had it as a library since we moved in. We’ve given up on the idea,” he said.

Enda Hickey is the principal of Holy Family Junior School, which has seven Junior Infant classes starting next September. 

“It’s the same as every school in Portlaoise. We are at capacity. We all have lengthy waiting lists.

“We get a regular stream of applications. There seems to be a large number of people moving to Portlaoise, buying houses. It doesn’t seem to be abating. Anybody who comes , we give them a form to fill for the Department’s Education and Welfare Officer, to assist people who can’t get a place,” he said.

During summer some places can free up if people move away, but more move in as well.

“We won’t really know until September. At the moment it does look like the town will have a shortage of a number of classrooms,” he said.

Building a new school is not an answer for now Mr Hickey said, nor does his school have space for prefabs.

“This is an immediate problem. Establishing a new school is a lengthy procedure,” he said.

Asked if the problem could ease if the Ukraine war ended and displaced families returned home, he said only to a degree.

“It seems to be a population issue in Portlaoise. A number of houses estates are still in construction and still being planned. Portlaoise is an anomaly. There’s a downward trend nationally for primary school places predicted but Portlaoise bucks that trend. 

“A large number of children go to schools outside Portlaoise. Parents tell us that it would be more convenient for them to be in the town. Baptism figures are moving upwards too, and that is only a part of the picture,” he said.

Holy Family Junior has 25 mainstream classes and two special needs classes. 

“We don’t have space for prefabs. Our site is at capacity and so is traffic management. 

Department of Education refutes need for another Portlaoise school

“Nobody wants to see a child without a school place but there needs to be scope in the building.

"It’s very simple, there aren’t enough places for September. The Department is aware and that’s why they asked us to meet and report to them how bad it is. We’ve given that information to them. I’m assuming they’re talking to places that might be able to cater because they are aware now,” the principal said.