THOSE who lost their lives in the Creeslough tragedy have been remembered in Donegal Education and Training Board’s (ETB) annual report.
In her forward, Chief Executive of Donegal ETB, Anne McHugh recalled how she learned of the tragedy on October 7, 2022 in which 10 people died.
“Our work with our tertiary cluster partners, ATU, Ulster University and North West Regional College (NWRC) hit a high note on 7 October with a very successful conference at ATU, but the lowest note possible rang out just hours later when the Creeslough tragedy put all that we do in stark perspective.
“The following week was indeed a dark one for our county and our school, Mulroy College, but with the wonderful support from around the world which took so many different forms, we have been able to move on to some degree. Of course, we will never forget those who lost their lives and were injured on that awful day and we keep them all, including family, friends and community in our thoughts.”
Donegal ETB’s Chairperson in 2022, Cllr Barry Sweeny, noted that 2022 would be remembered as a year of “highs and lows” and as “a year when our school communities saw an emergence from Covid-19 restrictions, a restoration of confidence and a return to many normalities across Donegal”.
He said: “The tragic events that unfolded in Creeslough on 7 October 2022 brought a dark cloud upon the region and a profound effect, particularly on the ETB school community of Mulroy College, Milford with the loss of life of students and parents. The response by the College and the wider community was, and continues to be, something special.”
Meanwhile, despite the ongoing pandemic restrictions that continued into part of 2022, over 29, 200 students availed of its post-primary, Further Education and Training (FET), outdoor education and training and music education courses.
Fifteen of the twenty-seven post-primary schools in Donegal are directly managed by Donegal ETB, which over 5,600 students attended in 2022.
Its extensive range of Further Education and Training (FET) courses supported almost 14,500 students across a wide range of full and part-time education and training options throughout the year, with over 7,800 also completing courses at its outdoor education and training centre at Gartan.
Over 1,420 students attended music classes with its music service, the Donegal Music Education Partnership.
In terms of teaching, learning and assessment, Donegal ETB welcomed the addition of three more of their post-primary schools into the Delivering Equality in Our Schools (DEIS) programme in 2022 – Coláiste na Carraige, St Catherine’s Vocational School in Killybegs and Coláiste Pobail Cholmcille on Oileán Thoraí.
A new FET centre was opened on Letterkenny’s Port Road, while approval was granted for the provision of an additional electrical workshop in its Gaoth Dobhair Training Centre, which will allow for the provision of a second electrical apprenticeship course.
With the outbreak of the war in Ukraine in February 2022, Donegal ETB facilitated the Regional Education and Language Team (REALT) to successfully place Ukrainian students in primary and post-primary schools across the county and its islands.
The REALT created a smooth and supportive transition for these students into the education system by working closely with schools, families, and the Ukrainian community to ensure that appropriate language support and cultural integration were provided.
In terms of progression and accountability, a new working group was formed in 2022 to begin scoping out the work required to meet public sector targets under the national Climate Action Plan which requires Donegal ETB to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 51 per cent by 2030 and increase the improvement in energy efficiency from the 33 per cent target in 2020 to 50 per cent, also by 2030.
In 2022 Donegal ETB carried out a large piece of work to meet its legal obligations under the European Union (Accessibility of Websites and Mobile Applications of Public Sector Bodies) Regulations 2020 which requires all public sector bodies to ensure their websites and mobile applications are accessible to everybody, including people with disabilities.
This work saw the ETB’s website Accessibility Score increase from just over nine per cent in early 2022, to over 72 per cent by November 2022.
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