Ms Mary Cregg:

The Department reinforces that this is a complex issue that needs to be addressed across the board. We are aware that exceptional circumstances apply. A reduced timetable should only be used as a last resort at the end of a process involving consultation with the parents. It should only apply in exceptional circumstances. In its inspection of a school the inspectorate seeks to support it by making a quality assessment of the teaching and learning and the learning experience and outcomes. That is the context in which the school inspection takes place. In DEIS school inspections schools are asked how many times reduced timetables are used, but that is a relatively recent development. When the issue arises in schools, inspectors are able to challenge whether it is the best process to see if everything else has been followed before it is put in place. From the school inspections where it has been raised, it appears that the process has been followed, but that is in a school as opposed to an individual context.