Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent) | Oireachtas source

There are some points I must make about the Bill but I will be supporting it as it is time we had this on a statutory footing.

Currently schools do engage with students and parents and one will find most schools already have a charter. An example from the website of a County Wexford second-level school states:

Working together as a school community, the Board of Management, parents, staff and students aim to provide an environment that will allow each student to develop intellectually, physically, morally, socially and spiritually so that she will be able to fulfil her role in society.

Obviously this is a second-level girls' school. There are also parents' associations which do great work and naturally they have a vested interest.

The Bill proposes to set out a framework as to how schools engage with students and parents and it will be put on a statutory footing, which is appropriate for the times we are in. Essentially, what is in the Bill is being done but not in a structured way, so it is appropriate to regularise that. In short, the Bill sets out what is and is not to go into a charter. It will bring consistency and uniformity among schools as to what parents and students are entitled to know, how to pursue a grievance and to allow parents to have their say in how their children are educated and to have all that be put on a statutory footing, which is only fitting. The Bill also updates the 1998 Act with various amendments. It includes the Ombudsman for Children as a stakeholder which is also appropriate. Importantly, section 27C gives the Minister power to issue directions to the board of management if the new charter requirements are not implemented and to give a board a time limit within which to comply. Thus the Bill is, in effect, a compliance measure.

However, there is an issue many of my constituents have raised with me, namely, they are requesting a review of the board of management structure.

They are asking that this happens sooner rather than later. I have a number of constituents; some of whom are current board members and others of whom have resigned from the board. Some are clergy and many are parents and professionals. These are ultimately the go-to people seen as board of management material, as it were. The one thing they have in common is they no longer wish to serve on the board of management and those still serving have expressed great difficulty in recruiting members. There is also a feeling that the extent of legislation and regulation today is beyond that of a volunteer structure.

A review in this regard is timely and it may take the form of a consultation process to begin with. It has also been suggested that the cluster model used to deal with secretarial skills and shared teacher substitutes might be expanded to a human resources footing on a similar basis. In fairness, human resources today is a science in itself, and post Covid it is anticipated that this scenario will become much worse.

I would appreciate it if the Department might engage with me on this. Given the day that is in it, unfortunately, newspaper reports have emerged over the past month indicating that students will be at an immense disadvantage, leading to disappointment, because points may rise for preferred courses. As the Minister, Deputy Foley, is a schoolteacher, she has great insight as to how the system works. There is disappointment every year but I expect the Department will formulate a solution, if at all possible, and I ask that whatever needs to be done should be done to reassure students. I ask that on a human level with mental health in mind.

I can attest to the fact that all is not lost if a person does not get into the course he or she wishes to attend at third level but I am almost 50 years old and know how to deal with this. It can be very difficult, especially when we consider the strain that Covid-19 has caused for students. It has really been hard to bear for many of them. I have no doubt it is in the mind of the Minister and departmental officials. I ask her to take care of that in the best way possible.

At this stage I invite any Minister or Minister of State from the Department to County Wexford. Not unlike other colleagues, I can name a number of schools in the county that do not have physical gym buildings, which students should certainly have if they are doing physical activity. One such school is CBS Secondary School, New Ross, but there is also the Holy Faith school, Our Lady Of Lourdes Secondary School, Rosbercon, and Ramsgrange Community School, which expects to submit planning permission for an extension. I hope that school will be successful in getting that permission.

There is another matter that must be raised. When we get our children back to school in September, we should not have to look at pods and similar types of separation. The anxiety levels of primary school children have been raised and this will cause serious damage in their development, both socially and mentally in future. I am serious in saying that the Department must consider this potential damage and, I hope, conclude that it will not be appropriate in September to have such separation. I hope we will have a good handle on Covid-19 by September, particularly in that age category, so we can look at ways other than separation and social isolation for small children at primary school level.

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