Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party) | Oireachtas source

I thank our guests for their presentations. My questions are a follow-up to my earlier questions. I recognise that much of the issue is caused by schools being under-resourced or because the proper supports that ensure children have the well-rounded education they deserve are not in place due to a lack of investment.

Who decides which subjects a child has access to in his or her curriculum? What are the criteria? Is a child entitled to learn English and Irish but not other subjects? I refer especially to second level with its broader curriculum, given that in primary school all the teachers have the same subject-related training whereas it differs in secondary school. After it has been decided or, perhaps, agreed that a child has been put on a reduced timetable, are the parents given any information in that regard? The teachers have spent time with the child, have taught him or her subjects and know how he or she is progressing. What happens if a parent disagrees and does not want the child to be on a reduced timetable? I ask because Mr. Goff and Mr. Golden will have experienced the issue as principals. In that scenario, what would happen for the parents and the principal?

Is a clear plan for the transition back to a full timetable given to parents? A plan could include details of how the transition will work and a roadmap to return the child to a full timetable. Does the Department write to principals to ask whether they operate a reduced timetable, how many students are on it, how a decision is made, whether the parents have agreed and what supports are needed to help the child return to a full timetable? I refer to an assessment of the supports and of how the timetable operates. If my son or daughter was put on a reduced timetable and I was in full-time work, I would not be able to collect him or her from school. Would he or she have to sit in the office with the secretary and wait to be collected? If so, that is segregation because the rest of the school would see the child sitting in the office. It cannot be good for the office staff either if there are behavioural difficulties and the child has to wait in the office for two or three hours. Even the best-behaved students would misbehave if they were left for two hours in an office. What would happen in that scenario? I cannot believe that a school would call at 9.10 a.m. or 9.30 a.m. and say it is time for a child to go home.