Pauline O'Reilly (Green Party)
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I thank the Acting Chairman. I welcome the Minister and the Minister of State and the staff members who are in attendance today.

I commend both Ministers, in the first instance, on their work. I have been pleasantly surprised by some of the alternative ways of thinking on display. The Minister spoke quite eloquently in acknowledging the work of Cork Life Centre, the management of which, on the basis of the contact I had with them previously, were probably quite frustrated. She also referred to acknowledging that not all children learn in the same way and that we need to look at different ways of educating young people.

The work that our committee did in preparing its report on bullying shows that children have different experiences of school and that identity very much comes into it when people are bullied.

That is evidenced by much of the research referenced in the report. So many witnesses came before us to discuss the issue. There were common themes. We absolutely have to consider therapeutic services, but also the reasons for the experiences children are having. Some really interesting things came out of that. I know the Minister has read the report, and I thank her for that. What kind of funding can be put in place in this regard? What came out loud and clear is that teaching staff need support in implementing some of the suggestions and recommendations we put forward. I am also a member of the Joint Committee on Key Issues affecting the Traveller Community. We did some training that involved acknowledging our own biases. That is an important part of the work of teaching staff as well when it comes to identity because, as we have to acknowledge, there is not significant diversity among such staff. We have excellent teachers but we need training across the board to ensure that everybody is acknowledging where they come from in society and how to interact with people from diverse backgrounds.

I had to leave the meeting earlier because I had Internet access problems. However, I heard the Minister say that she was considering changes to the student and parent charter. I very much welcome that. Even a renaming of the charter would be an acknowledgement that schools are communities made up of students, parents and teachers, but also the wider community. Would she consider putting in amendments relating to guidelines on arrangements to be made by schools for those who may not wish to take religious instruction, for instance? I know it is referenced in existing legislation but, in the context of the guidelines themselves, schools are implementing things differently. It is an important part of the overall picture. It may be worth considering a survey of parents to see what it is they are expecting and whether they want religious training or religious instruction for their children rather than having to opt out. Opting out can be a cause of bullying, in and of itself, which goes back to the point on identity. Those are a couple of specific issues relating to funding and religious instruction.

The Minister will be aware that I am a former chair of Home Education Network Ireland and have been in touch with many families that take their children out of school because of trauma. It is important to recognise that. Some families do so for ideological reasons but there are many people who do it because of school trauma. As such, the work the Minister is doing in respect of other kinds of provision is really important to address that issue and ensure it is a matter of choice. It also means that people have the choice to have an education in school where appropriate and not feel traumatised by it. I welcome that and I really look forward to hearing more on the subject.

A significant point relating to children going back to school is that many of them do not have access to lockers. It may seem like a small issue but it is actually quite a major one for my children, who have been in school since I became a Senator, in the context of carrying heavy schoolbags. Some schools seem to be providing lockers. Are there specific guidelines in that regard? Having to carry a heavy schoolbag means children do not cycle or walk and that more of them travel to school in cars, which also has a climate impact.