Mr. Paul Rolston:

I appreciate that. Our Constitution enshrines the rights of parents as the primary educators. We are happy to see this move.

The National Parents Council, post-primary is grateful to the joint committee for the opportunity to contribute to the pre-legislative scrutiny of the general scheme of an education (parent and student charter) Bill 2016.The Constitution enshrines a parent’s right to educate his or her child. It states that parents are the primary educators of their children. Research shows that parental involvement in schools leads to better educational outcomes for children. We believe the proposed Bill will create a more inclusive, open and transparent educational system. Parents want the best educational system that enriches each student's life and produces an individual confident that he or she has been well served and prepared for life as a young adult in his or her community. Thus every student attains an education that realises his or her full potential and can contribute positively to society in his or her adult life.

We appreciate and support the positivity of the proposals in the parent and student charter, as it places students in the centre of school life and respects and values the role of parents in education. Under the parent and student charter, schools will develop a listening culture and will actively seek input from parents on school policies and plans. Hopefully this will include areas like subject choice, communications, feedback etc. Schools should be open about their performance and transparent around school costs. School costs cannot be a barrier to participation in the free education system. Consultation with parents on the cost of delivering academic and extra-curricular activities and other services, as well as the cost of books, school uniforms and so on is very important and is required.

Many parents feel excluded from having input into the educational system at secondary level. The number of complaints was referred to earlier. We want to be consulted on all aspects of our children’s education and development and wish to work jointly with schools management, staff and students on improving communication. The majority of queries we receive from parents relate to guidelines around grievance procedures in post-primary schools. Parents are unsure about how to address problems and issues and are unaware of their right to appeal decisions. A great number of parents who have engaged with us on this matter have described themselves as feeling alone and intimidated by the process. Parents are often afraid to raise an issue with their school fearing possible reprisal. We hope that more parental consultation and involvement will ameliorate such problems. However, if problems do arise, there needs to be a clear process to enable parents and schools to resolve issues locally together rather than having to resort to official procedures. Should a complaint escalate however, and be brought to the attention of the ombudsman, the ombudsman’s office must be properly resourced in order to deal with the issue.

The ability for us to communicate effectively with all parents at a school is also a matter of serious concern and we feel strongly that every school must facilitate an independent communication conduit between the parents association and the parent body at that school.

The National Parents Council, post-primary, welcomes the opportunity to be involved in the consultation along with students, school management bodies and staff and other representatives in order that we can facilitate proper conversation and detailed consultation. Since the announcement of the Bill in December 2016, we have commenced a consultation process with parents through our constituent bodies. This Thursday we will publish a national survey for parents of post-primary students on our website . On 8 April we will host a free information event in St. Tiernan’s community school in Dublin, which again will provide parents with an opportunity to have their voices heard.

We look forward to sharing the results of the feedback with the Department of Education and Skills and with the joint committee.