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

I thank the Minister and his officials for coming before us. I agree with others that this is a very important issue that the committee has highlighted. There was very little public information on this practice and it was only when parents came across it with their children that they realised that it existed. It came to light when we looked at the transition of Traveller children from primary to secondary level. We realised that a very large number of Traveller children were being subjected to reduced timetables. There was very little knowledge about it.

Community Law & Mediation did a study on reduced timetables among children in Limerick, the city I represent. It established that only 27% of education welfare officers knew that a child was on a reduced timetable. It is crucial for that information to be conveyed and known. We need to have good data collection. We frequently heard in our hearings that there were no data. Cases of reduced timetables were not registered by schools because they were not considered to be either suspensions or exclusions. I understand from the Minister - he might clarify - that there will be much more comprehensive collection of data. The data need to be continually updated and shared. I agree with Deputy Catherine Martin who said they should be reported back to the committee. We need public reporting of how frequently this mechanism is used and why it is used. There needs to be intervention so that there is an alternative arrangement for the children in question when this occurs and the measure should only be used in exceptional cases.

On the issue of this being used in exceptional cases, in all of this parents need to have equal power in the relationship. It should not be a case of schools saying they need to remove a child for a period with the possibility of being suspended or expelled. There should not be pressure on parents. It should be a relationship where the parents are genuinely involved and have the power to say they do not want their child taken out of school. As Deputy Thomas Byrne said, education is a right. The Ombudsman for Children referred to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child - the right of the child to have an education. It is vital that that power relationship is changed.

The representatives of management bodies told the committee that they agreed that reduced timetables should be exceptional, time limited and apply only after consultation with parents. Parents' groups, Inclusion Ireland, AsIAm and the Traveller representatives all had a different story about this measure being used quite widely, with parents being phoned to come in to collect their child to be taken out of school. It was not planned or recorded. They did not feel they had any real power in the decision-making.

It is important that we have shone a light on the issue. It is important that we get it right. I hope the Minister will take note of the submissions we got. I have a question on the role of the inspectors in gathering the information. It should not be seen as negative for a school to be inclusive; it should be seen as positive. However, the data need to be gathered.

I agree that there must be consultation with the various educational partners on any proposals and the Minister has said he will have that consultation. How long will that consultation take? When will we have something final in place providing full information for everybody involved? The welfare of the child must be paramount. There need to be alternative supports and educational opportunities where it is agreed that it is in the best interests of the child. Everyone who appeared before the committee agreed with us that this option should only be taken in very rare cases and should not be something schools use to deal with children whose behaviour is perceived to be difficult.