Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald at her visit to St. Anthony’s Special Needs Pre-School
APPROXIMATELY €300,000 is required to build a much-needed extension to St. Anthony’sSpecialNeedsPre-School, located in the County Wexford Community Workshop, (CWCW) Enniscorthy.
CEO for the CWCW, Trevor Jacob, confirmed to The Echo that €76,000 has been fundraised so far since January 2011 to extend the Pre-School onto a stand-alone centre at a location beside the Post Office.
However, a grant has now been applied for to the Department of Health and the Department of Children to help pay the withstanding balance.
Minister for Children, Ms. Frances Fitzgerald, visited the centre on Friday where she said, “Times are tough but I will do what I can.”
She added that she understood the importance of centres such as St. Anthony’s Pre-School as she has three children herself, and having previously worked as a social worker, she recognises the dedication and effort.
Minister Fitzgerald concluded her speech by saying: “We have to get our debts in control and then we can get underway supporting services like these.”
Mr. Jacob said that he hopes the grant will come through for the Pre-School as it is in desperate need of extending.
“I wouldn’t be ambitious for a lot of money but even some of what we’re asking for in the grant would make a start. We’ll keep fundraising too – our next one is our annual Church Gate Collection which will take place on the 5th and 6th of January 2013.
“This extension has to happen – the Pre-School is currently part of the adult services in the Workshop and things such as having to share the toilets with the adults is not usual in Pre-School facilities and is something we are not happy about.”
He added: “The new centre would give us more space; it is currently very cramped and we are limited in terms of users. When the physiotherapist or speech therapist comes for a session there is not enough room.
“We have ten children on the books, and we can’t even have them at the same time. We take them in two lots of six and four. The new extension would have a capacity for up to twenty children and we hope that building will get underway in early 2013.”
The Pre-School operates four mornings per week, on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and all ten children who attend have been referred from various HSE professionals.
Each child follows an Individual Plan, put in place with the guidance of professionals, which may include Speech and Language Therapy and Physiotherapy Programmes.
The daily plan also includes various activities for the children, including sand play, painting, and playing with tabletop toys, such as jigsaws and shape sorters.
For the full story, see this weeks edition of the Enniscorthy Echo.
