Educate Together recently announced that it will apply for a new eight-classroom primary school to serve Newcastle, Rathcoole and Saggart to open in 2020. This school is separate from the designated Gaelscoil that has already been announced to also open in 2020. Parents and carers of children aged up to five years old and living in the catchment area outlined by the Department of Education and Skills will be invited to visit a dedicated website and choose their patron of choice for this new school. The survey will close on Sunday 26th January and the resulting data will be analysed and the New School Establishment Group will award patronage.
Minister for Education and Skills Joe McHugh said: “It is a great opportunity for mothers and fathers and guardians to help to shape the education of the future. I urge as many people as possible who live in the area and have children going to primary school in the next few years to make their voices heard.”
Says Paul Rowe, CEO, Educate Together: “I’m extremely pleased that parents in Newcastle, Rathcoole and Saggart now have the opportunity to exercise their patronage vote in a truly democratic way. I am certain that the solution of providing both English and Irish medium schools will satisfy the largest number of parents possible.’
Educate Together has established a tradition of democracy, inclusion and equality that benefits pupils, parents and teachers alike. At primary level Educate Together has forty years experience of providing an education based on human rights and that welcomes all children regardless of religious, social or cultural background. Interested parents can find out more at www.educatetogether.ie and can vote at the Department of Education and Skills website here: https://patronage.
