Mr. Tiernan O'Neill:

I echo what the ladies said. Children need connection, predictability and trust. Our focus and view is sometimes too narrow. It is not only about children but also parents. Schools need to ensure they connect with parents and build the trust and relationships. Mr. Cronin spoke earlier about the home-school liaison scheme, particularly with the DEIS schools where you have that person on the ground building relationships and trust with the families. That should not be about one individual but a culture and philosophy that permeates throughout our education system. I have found that when you work with the family and build up that positive bank of goodwill, that is how you start to make gains and progress. That for me is what inclusive education is all about: taking that holistic wrap-around. I am not trying to be trite or sentimental about it; that is the reality. It actually makes me very pragmatic about it. It makes my job easier. If we build relationships with parents and families, it makes our jobs easier, children have better outcomes and everybody goes away at the end of the day much happier and far less frustrated.