Tipperary childcare: Clonmel's St Joseph's to get new name under work programme

Work on the development of services at St Joseph’s School, Ferryhouse continues to show progress and the facility is to receive a new name, according to Tusla, the Child and Family Agency.

The scheduled developments will ensure that the services provided in St Joseph’s are of a high quality and based on the identified needs of children and young people in the region, while holding true to the site’s long history in the local community, the agency has stated.

Speaking about the development works Donal McCormack, national service director, residential childcare services, Tusla said: "In December, we announced plans to develop services provided to young people at St Josephs’s School, Ferryhouse and since then significant progress has been made including visits to other services to inform future direction, and sourcing alternative accommodation for children and young people."

He said that a key consideration during this process had been the importance of limiting disruption to community groups who use the campus.

Tusla had developed a strong relationship with local community groups and those who use the facilities and there had been no disruption to the use of the campus by community groups to date and commitments have been given up to December 2019, he said.

The residential centre remains operational and plans are being made for the use of any building vacated by the reconfiguration of services in order to maximise the use of the site to its full extent.

Tusla remained committed to restoring the residential placement capacity temporarily lost in the reconfiguration, but in the meantime any surplus resources, such as staffing, had been temporarily reassigned to Tusla community services, said Mr McCormack.

The on-site school, which is run by the Education and Training Board (ETB), has been renamed, following consultation with staff and young people and will now be called Sliabh na mBan College.

The school has expanded its admission policy to include out of school learners who may benefit from individualised programmes in a low pupil / teacher ratio setting with the ability to provide both long and short term educational programmes.

St Joseph’s School has been a feature of life in Clonmel since it was founded in 1884 and has provided residential care to children for over 130 years. The School has undergone many changes throughout its history, transferring from the Rosminian Order, to the Department of Education, to the HSE and finally in 2013 to Tusla.

Tusla acknowledged the strong support from and the relationships with the local community, organisations and groups which the service has enjoyed over its long history, and throughout the current redevelopment phase and will continue to update local groups and interested parties.