Sandelford Special School, located in Coleraine, County Londonderry, has closed four temporary classrooms. This new decision comes after repeated concerns about serious health and safety hazards such as leaks, fungus growth, and mould. As a consequence, more than 30 students are no longer able to attend in-person school and must learn virtually from home. Parents and local assembly members were understandably alarmed. They are concerned about the impact this will have on the education of children with special educational needs (SEN).
The students have already missed nearly a week of school since September due to this health crisis. Today, an even greater wave of closures is sweeping the country. Parent Wendy Gallagher, the mother of student Andrew, expressed her vehement opposition. She is now anxious about her international son returning to campus to take classes that were previously in a safe, welcoming environment. On November 20, she got a letter from the school. It followed up by posting on social media that the mobile classrooms would no longer operate effective immediately.
“I simply couldn’t believe that the EA were saying that there was no reason why our child could not return to school,” said Gallagher. The abrupt announcement to shutter the classrooms came as a punch to the gut. As a result, she felt abandoned and made significant sacrifices to maintain her child’s educational continuity. “School is such an important part of their life for so many reasons and I feel they have been really badly neglected and as a mummy, this makes me really sad,” she added.
Assembly members have called out the Education Authority (EA) for their lack of transparency and accountability for their part in this unfolding situation. The Education spokesperson for the UUP, Jon Burrows, represented the situation facing the students as “absolutely intolerable.” To succeed, he ruled that unprecedented and at times aggressive leadership from the EA was needed. He very importantly called on them to engage directly with families and provide a wholly resourced interim package that maintains specialist support during pupils’ absence from school. Burrows promised to hold the EA accountable until each child affected has their safe, appropriate in-person provision restored.
Cara Hunter, a member of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), echoed these sentiments, highlighting the importance of “routine, stability and the support of specialist staff” for children with special educational needs. She added that it’s the most vulnerable pupils who are being forced to experience interruption to their education yet again.
The EA has come under fire for its handling of the explosive find. A spokesperson assured that “the safety and wellbeing of pupils and staff at Sandelford School is our absolute priority.” The originally intended use of the funding They chose to fund emergency repair projects due to past failures of the mobile classrooms. On top of that, they paid for independent air quality studies. According to early assessments, the state of the classrooms led to them being declared functional at first. The EA was given amended technical advice only hours before the closure decision. In doing so, they knew that they would immediately stop using the mobile classrooms.
“In response to issues with the mobile classrooms earlier this month, EA prioritised emergency repair works and commissioned independent air clearance results,” stated an EA spokesperson. They determined that immediate closures were needed upon receiving a report from an outside air quality assurance firm.
We know parents are anxiously awaiting news from the district. They deserve transparency on what this means for their children’s interim education. The disruptions have raised questions about the preparedness of educational facilities to handle health concerns effectively and ensure a safe environment for all students.
