Ms Cliodhna O'Neill:

I will ask Mr. Hanlon to respond on that but, on reduced school days, the purpose of developing the guidance was to ensure that schools understood their obligations and that parents understood the rights of their children and how reduced timetables are supposed to be used. We are very clear that they are only to be used in a manner that is limited, appropriate and absolutely necessary, in line with the Department's rules and in the best interests of the child. We are in a fairly new phase of this because the guidelines are not very old yet. We are seeing a change in behaviour and a change in the use of reduced timetables that is more child-centred. That is the whole purpose of having the new guidelines in place and that is why we are dedicating time and resources to following up with schools to make sure that they understand how and when reduced timetables are to be used, and that parents understand the purpose of them as well. The guidelines were introduced because of what the Senator is talking about, to some degree. We have to ensure that schools understand what reduced timetables are for and that they are used appropriately.