Ms Aisling Browne:

I wish to address the point about the language barrier. It certainly is an issue, and it is something we come across almost on a daily basis when we are out and about working with parents. As teachers, we are very creative by nature. If we are trying to talk to or to explain something to a parent and there is a language barrier, we will try everything we can to get our message across. I have been in homes where I have used Google to try to communicate something important.

However, there is no provision to employ interpreters. In our school, interpreters are paid to be there. For example, if there is an important meeting about a child's progress or if there is a concern, the school will pay for an interpreter in order that nothing is lost in translation and we are sure that the parent is fully informed and understands the key message.

Whatever language we speak, our role is to help and support all parents and another very important thing is that international parents feel that they are welcome in the school. We are lucky in the junior school in that we have an English as an additional language, EAL, teacher. That is Ms Mary Lenihan, who is here with us today. In the senior school they do not but we run international days and work together to involve those parents in the school as well. For the children, the important thing is understanding and accepting.

However, it is a major issue and is definitely a barrier. It concerns the funding, because the cost of an interpreter for even a 30-minute meeting is huge. Schools will do it for the good of the child, because schools always do it, but it is something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration.