Kildare school to begin new extension build
In this artist's impression the new SEN extension is at the right hand end, beside the white wall.
A PRIMARY school in Rathangan is to build a two-storey special education extension after getting permission just within six weeks of applying to the County Council.
It is believed the speed of delivery is down to the Department of Education having pre-designed plans for such a facility that have been dropped successfully into a number of other locations around the State.
Scoil Náisiúnta Naomh Phadraig on the Bracknagh Road will now have an extra 934sqm of floor space over the two storeys, comprising of six classrooms, a safe space, changing area, toilets and a resource room.
This will now see the removal of a prefab that has been on the site for a number of years, and its replacement with a new tarmacadam play area for the kids.
The former 48sqm changing rooms will now be replaced with almost double the capacity, as the new changing rooms will have a floor area of 87sqm.
Outdoors, there will be a new boundary treatment and a sensory garden.
The rest of the attached boys’ national school was only built 12 years ago with 12 classrooms in all, however the same year demand for places required the addition of a first prefab.
In the planner’s report it was noted that within the county development plan it is an objective of the council “to continue to facilitate the re-development and expansion of existing schools … to provide for community and educational facilities”.
The only minor blot in the planner’s report was that “trees to be removed have not been assessed by an arborist or had a tree survey completed. It would have been beneficial to see detail on replacement planting, landscapes and designs for the sensory garden”.
However, this oversight was addressed in the conditions attached to the permission, namely that “a detailed landscape scheme shall be submitted, and agreed in writing with the planning authority”.
