Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I move: "That the Bill be now read a Second Time."

I am very pleased to be introducing this Bill to the House. A similar Bill was drafted in the previous Oireachtas but did not make it through. This is part of a suite of measures I believe we need to introduce in the education area that will equip our education service to meet and respond to the expectations of citizens for a progressive education system. The expectations of citizens are changing and we have to make sure that we have the capacity to change with it. I hope to introduce a number of measures that will bolster that. For example, we have already brought in the fitness to teach measure which gives parents and students the expectation that there will be accountability for the standards of teaching. That is an important measure and is a piece of the Teaching Council Bill. Work had to be done to bring it to this point but it is welcome that it is in place.

I also intend to introduce a parents and students charter, which I know the Acting Chairman is particularly interested in, so that more issues can be resolved at school level and that schools have in place the sort of charters that meet the expectations of pupils and parents, and that they ought to expect. This admissions area is another important area in which we need to have modern legislation. In introducing the Bill I am conscious that there is a wider range of issues regarding admissions that people have concerns about, and people want to see greater diversity and more choice within our education system. An important element of that is to promote new schools which will have a broader range of choice. We come from a situation where most schools are denominational, and there is changing expectations among citizens. We also need to see the transfer of school patronage where there are opportunities to switch from the existing patrons. I am working to deliver those as well.

This Bill provides the opportunity to bring greater transparency and fairness into school admissions. It makes clear that every school must be welcoming to every young person regardless of their colour, abilities or disabilities. For example, it will help to end soft barriers that some of our schools erect in the way of children with special needs. It is my firm view that we should have that spirit enshrined in an admissions Bill that sets out in detail the laws that should prevail in this area. This legislation derives from the Education Act of 1998 but things have moved on since then and we need to codify and put in place a better framework that emphasises transparency and consistency in school enrolment generally, thereby giving greater confidence to parents that the admissions criteria laid down by schools and the procedures used by them are legitimate, reasonable and fair.

I will go through the Bill section by section if time permits but I want to first highlight the main aims and provisions. A key objective of the Bill and its associated regulations is to improve access to school for all pupils. In this regard the Bill will strengthen our capacity to cater for a child who cannot get a place at school. This is important, particularly for children who are vulnerable and at risk. The Bill will allow the National Council for Special Education, NCSE, and the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, to designate a place for a child in a school. It is important to be clear that the Bill does not enable the Child and Family Agency or the NCSE to increase the school's capacity. The school must have places available for a designation to be made.

The Bill will enshrine in law a ban on schools charging parents to apply for a place in school.

The Bill, while including provision for single sex schools and denominational schools to reflect in their admission policy and the exemptions applicable to such schools under equality legislation, makes clear that every school must be welcoming of every child regardless of his or her colour, abilities or disabilities, or indeed, sexual orientation or membership of the Traveller community.

The Bill also requires schools to publish an admission policy which will include details of the school's arrangements for students who do not want to attend religious instruction. This is an important measure which will help ensure transparency from the outset as to how a school will uphold the rights of parents in this regard.

Many parents are happy with the schools their children attend and that the vast majority of schools are inclusive and welcoming places, but there are cases where there is disappointment and dissatisfaction, with limited means of dealing with this. It is with this in mind that the framework aims to strike an appropriate balance between school autonomy and the interests of parents in our education system.

This can he achieved through regulations that foster greater transparency and consistency in terms of how schools communicate and interact with parents. To that end, the Bill sets out clearly-----

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