St. Nicholas’s to shut
after twenty years
by Liam Porter, Inishowen
Independent
THE BUNCRANA St. Nicholas’s Pre-School which caters
for children with special needs, looks set to be
closed at the end of July by the HSE, the Inishowen
Independent has learned.
It is understood that the decision to close the
Buncrana based pre-school was taken at a recent
meeting of the HSE and that decision was
subsequently communicated by letter to key
stakeholders in the pre-school.
The pre-school has provided vital services for
children from all over Inishowen for over 20 years
and it remains unclear whether the decision to close
the service has been influenced in any way by
budgetary constraints or cutbacks within the HSE.
A source indicated to this newspaper yesterday that
they understood the decision was based on falling
numbers and an increasing preference by parents for
their children to attend mainstream pre-schools.
They also suggested that the service will still be
provided to children in their local area.
However this could not be confirmed and while the
HSE were contacted about the imminent closure of the
Pre-School, they had not responded by the time the
paper had gone to press.
Meanwhile a spokesperson for the parents committee
at the school said they had been “extremely shocked
and upset by the news.”
“I think the initial reaction from those who have
heard the news is one of shock and anger. Although
the HSE intends to deliver the service through a
community setting we do have some concerns that the
children will not receive the same level of
specialist intervention,” the spokesperson said.
Past parents of children who have attended the
school were expected to meet last night to discuss
the situation.
“Until after this meeting has taken place and all
parents have a full picture of what the future plans
are, we won’t be in a position to make any further
comment,” their spokesperson added.
St Nicholas is one of three specialist pre-schools
for children with learning disabilities in the
county with the other two located in Donegal Town
and Letterkenny. In the absence of a reply from the
HSE yesterday it also remains unclear whether either
of those two schools has received similar
notification. |
