Ms Róisín Webb:

I thank members for all the very specific issues they have raised because it is very interesting for us to get that kind of information and to reflect on it. We would say as an office that the Department of Education and Skills needs to reflect on how boards of management need to improve in terms of best practice. That is something with which we would agree. The IPPN and other organisations would also agree with that. We are not a panacea for all ills. In terms of oversight relating to how schools deal with grievances, the Ombudsman for Children's office thinks that the parent-student charter has significant potential. This is the first building block. As Mr. Hanevey said, when schools have to be more open and transparent in respect of complaints and how they are dealt with, that information is there. Oversight mechanisms within the Department can be further developed and improved.

In respect of the role of our office, we have a broad remit. In respect of educational welfare, we have an amazing power under our Act, particularly section 7, where we not only look at the investigation of complaints, but at the rights and welfare of the child under section 7. We work cross-functionally as a team so that where systemic issues arise that cannot be addressed in respect of the admissibility of a complaint or where a complaint may not meet the threshold of what is required to investigate, we do not just drop these issues. We take them on board. There are massive problems with regard to special educational needs because the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act has not been implemented. There is a right to an assessment but no right to what comes out of that assessment. These are often issues where, with the best will in the world and following through on an investigation, we still end up with a road block so it is just not about schools. There is a range of issues where our office is in a position to advise about how the rights and welfare of children can be improved. We are learning all the time as an office.

I draw attention to the nuances within what is proposed in subsection 16 because what has been drafted by the Department not only relates to recommendations for our office where the complaint has met the threshold for investigation and has gone forward, but it also applies to the large amount of work our office does at the local resolution phase. What is fantastic about the charter is that it is fully reflective of the way our office works and what we want to build upon, which is improving how schools operate at a local level, transparency, accountability and all the frustrations about communicating with parents shutting down. They are issues that the principles of the charter address. This is what we want to see changing.

In respect of suggestions and guidance, the wording of what is proposed is so important because it is not only talking about where an investigation has been conducted, but there are options to lay a report before the Oireachtas. There have been a small number of situations where that has not been possible because we were protecting a child. It also applies to the local resolution phase where a complaint has not met the threshold for investigation because of the criteria relating to the Act but where it is a serious issue. The office works very hard to make suggestions, give encouragement and make recommendations to a school.

It is true that sometimes there are situations where boards do not carry through on that.

This legislation provides an additional stick where we can say there is another power and they should listen to what we are saying. I would highlight that in Section 7 of the Act there is a provision around best practice guidance for schools in regard to the rights and welfare of the child. We are about to publish a golden rules and complaints handling procedure, which the office was working on prior to the current proposals and which places the child at the centre of all of this. There is excellent research on child-friendly complaints mechanisms. We will have that as a resource for schools. We would say that the Department of Education needs to present what is best practice for schools. The parent and student charter is the way forward to improve all of that but it is a process and it is going to take time, it will not change everything overnight. We as an office intend to work with that.

On educational welfare, the amendments will allow the educational charter to fall under the remit of our office. That would broaden what is covered by maladministration. We will look at how schools are implementing the charter. That is a space we have not quite figured out yet but that will broaden what we are looking at. It will still mean that we are not getting involved in adjudicating in the nitty-gritty of everything that goes on in the school, nor should we because that would not be best practice and it would not be practical. However, we do think these proposals have huge potential.