Oireachtas Joint and Select Committees

Thursday, 13 June 2019

Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Skills

Use of Reduced Timetables: Discussion (Resumed)

Photo of Jan O'SullivanJan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour) | Oireachtas source

Clearly there is a breakdown between what is supposed to happen and what actually happens. We have shone a light on the problem, but we now need to be very specific about what needs to happen. Mr. Kelly from Tusla has said there is an obligation to report to the National Educational Welfare Board and that partial exclusions are suspensions. On the other hand, Ms Keane told us that based on the information in her survey, the educational welfare officer was only aware of 27% of cases, which clearly is a breach of what is supposed to happen. Are schools informed that they are supposed to report to the National Educational Welfare Board on suspensions? That indicates a breakdown.

I wish to ask the departmental officials the question Mr. Harris raised earlier about data. Does the Department have data for suspensions and/or reduced timetables broken down by children attending DEIS schools, children from Traveller or Roma families and children with special educational needs? Based on what Mr. Harris said, I think it probably does not.

At our last meeting we heard from the National Association of Principals and Deputy Principals, the Irish Primary Principals Network, the National Association of Boards of Management in Special Education and the Joint Managerial Body Secretariat of Secondary Schools. They all agreed with the delegates present that it should only be in exceptional circumstances and as a last resort. However, that does not seem to be the reality. The policy is that it should only happen in very special cases, but in practice it is much more commonly used. Again, that shows a breakdown. Will the Department insert an extra field into the requirements of the primary online database, POD, returns schools make to oblige them to identify reduced timetables? I am not sure if suspensions are already covered; they probably are. This would mean that they would have to return the information.

Ms Cregg mentioned that guidelines were being drafted. When will they be ready to be communicated to schools?

Based on what has been discussed and at previous meetings, will the delegates look seriously at the reporting mechanisms, the rights of parents and, more importantly, children? Obviously, the committee will make a report. I ask the delegates to look at their own obligations to ensure we will address what in theory should not be anything like the problem it is but which in practice, from what we have heard, appears to be much common than it should be.

Comments

No comments

Log in or join to post a public comment.