Hi Everyone,
I hope you are all having a lovely Summer so far. The Summer Scheme was a great success and it will only be a few weeks until we are ready to start another new term again.
As you all know, we have been suffering from accommodation issues for several years now.
We have been unable to provide for pre-school pupils for the incoming year, so they will now be placed in a nearby Primary School There will be a class of P1/P2 pupils, who should be with us, in a second Primary School There is a class of P5/P6 pupils, who should be with us, in a third Primary School. There are several pupils from other year groups, as well as pupils at post-16, who require places, however we cannot take them either.
We have finally been able to take back our PE Hall, but we are still using our staffroom, 2 cloakrooms and my office/meeting room as classrooms. There are very few breakout spaces in school and with 131 pupils in a space created for 39, as well as 15 pupils in Cookstown Youth Resource Centre, with pupils and staff isolated from their peers in Dungannon, there is little opportunity to resolve these issues any time soon.
EA are still trying to find suitable alternative accommodation in the medium term and are also looking at long term solutions. However, this does not improve our current situation and pupils do not have appropriate accommodation, break-out spaces etc to maximise the potential of their learning.
We are having to tell parents whose children have a statement of Special Educational Needs and require a place in Sperrinview that we have no room for them. This is soul-destroying for these parents and for us. Our job is to provide for these pupils, and to have to turn them away from the most appropriate educational setting, goes totally against the grain. We always strive to give our pupils the best possible education, however this becomes more difficult as resources become more diluted - an unacceptable situation!
Governors and I meet with EA monthly and have had these conversations numerous times over the last 18 months. There is now going to be an Independent Review of Special Education in NI, and bearing in mind our situation in Sperrinview, I think it is vital that parents have an opportunity to have their say about all of this. Other schools are now hitting similar issues, with no potential solutions. This must be dealt with and soon. Please look at the attached flyer and consider attending this Zoom meeting to have your say.
Many thanks and I hope you enjoy the remainder of the holidays.
Paula J
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