Grace Park board of management agree to renew after school provider contract after a lengthy tender process and then reverse the decision saying a host of excuses but no unsolvable reasons. Then refuse point blank to speak with any of the 70+ families who’ve been screwed over by it.
Hundreds of families back them who aren’t even affected. Some families will have to stop working because of it, others planning on going back to education have to postpone plans. I personally know a single mum whose daughter has been accepted into Junior Infants but now can’t take up the place because of this decision.
by dublinjammers
11 comments
Did board of management give any reason for their decisions? Removing on site after school care seems bananas
Boards of management have serious power trips. The GF is on the exec committee of her school and the stuff she hears about the board. Her is an Educate Together too. A really great school with great services but jaysus it’s just a school! The power trips!
She was great in Battlestar Galactica
[deleted]
Fair play to them, the childcare crisis in ireland has gone mad and affects everyone whether they have kids or not
Has it got something to do with insurance?
My little one starts school in September… her Educate Together has still yet to produce a plan for afterschool – but has stated that everyone going there should have access. Should I be worried?
On school care is such an obvious thing. It should be against school / national charter to remove something like that. How does it work in terms of costs – does everyone pay the same amount, or it varies according to income?
If these are the protests against having Protestants in our school. Fair play. Otherwise why do I care
Probably the Churches fault……. somehow!
I have kids in ETNS and in afterschool, and I’m quite heavily involved in the PTA. This may not be applicable to all schools, but from what I’ve been told, it’s still a normal (maybe not typical situation):
Classrooms in smaller schools are not available for afterschool because they are reserved for teachers who run afternoon clubs. So, afterschool is limited to hallways and the PE hall. Afterschool is run by an external company, and they have a vested interest to maximise the number of pupils in their care, but are limited by space. In our school it’s less than 50% of enrolled children for the first 6 years. This creates tension between the afterschool and BOM, and in extreme cases may result in the loss of contract. My school also didn’t want to renew contract with the afterschool provider, and it announced a new tender. The only afterschool provider who submitted a proposal was the old one, so we still have them (and as parents are quite happy with them).
Still, with fewer than 50% pupils getting a spot, we’re seeing a large number of declined offers, even though the school is 300% oversubscribed. Parents will rather drive for 30-60 minutes to a school with a functioning afterschool than walk their kids for 5 minutes. I don’t blame them; I would have done the same.