Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for being here to answer the question. I was shocked to discover before Christmas last year that there are no leaving certificate applied options available for secondary school students in all of County Leitrim. Since it was brought to my attention, I raised the issue initially with the Taoiseach on December 13 during Questions on Promised Legislation. I submitted several parliamentary questions and wrote to the Minister highlighting the situation. I find it incredible that a recognised State curriculum is completely unavailable to students in all of County Leitrim.

There are over 800,000 people aged between ten and 24 in Ireland. As these young people transition from adolescence to adulthood and from primary school to secondary school and further education or work, they are faced with major changes, pressures, expectations and opportunities. We must ensure their voices are heard and that they are respected, safe and healthy and that they meet their full potential in life and education. The two-year leaving certificate applied programme is designed for students who do not wish to proceed directly to higher education or for those whose needs, aptitudes and learning styles are not fully catered for by the other two leaving certificate programmes. The experiences are active and practical with less emphasis on final examinations. The programme provides for a wealth of opportunity which enhances the self-esteem and confidence of students with regular feedback on their success and achievements. Education is the key to giving every child an equal opportunity in life. Ireland is recognised as having a strong education system with a well-trained and committed teaching profession yet too many of our children still fall through the cracks and are in danger of being left behind, as is the case in County Leitrim. Page 86 of the programme for Government states that "the Government, working in conjunction with the Oireachtas must ... equip young people with key enabling skills for the future so they can meet their full potential in a fast-changing world". Page 90 of the programme states that the Government will "introduce greater flexibility in our schools and pursue measures to achieve this" and that "This may include nurturing different ambitions through new subject choices, greater engagement with enterprise on future skills needs, and increased flexibility". The Government is not adhering to its own commitments.

There is a concerned parent in south County Leitrim whose child attends school there and whose educational psychologist has recommended the student should be enrolled on a leaving certificate applied course. However, the school the student attends does not provide that programme. No school in County Leitrim offers the leaving certificate applied curriculum. In response to a parliamentary question and a letter to the Minister, Deputy Bruton, I received a copy and paste response which advised me that "It is the responsibility and choice of each individual school to decide to put in place the LCA programme, including the admittance of a student to the programme". In this instance, is it not a matter for the Department to intervene? Are parents and children in County Leitrim just to get on with it? Teachers have raised concerns that the falling numbers opting for LCA are as a result of choices forced on schools by education cutbacks. Due to staffing limitations imposed by several budgets, some schools have dropped programmes such as the LCA altogether. This is a matter for the Department of Education and Skills and the Department must address it, particularly in the instances where the educational psychologist has recommended a student for the leaving certificate applied programme.

Level 4 education is an essential component of the education system which each and every child is entitled to and it is being denied to children in County Leitrim. Society has an expectation that young people embrace change. Those of us charged with education must step up to the mark. There are students in County Leitrim who are not being educationally supported to prepare positively for their future. They are being denied the entitlement of their required educational needs, which is confirmed by the National Educational Psychological Service as the leaving certificate applied qualification. The statistics compared to neighbouring counties offering the programme are staggering. Records from 2016 show there were 48 in County Sligo, 14 in County Roscommon, 79 in County Galway, 73 in County Mayo and 136 in County Donegal but none in County Leitrim. This is not an acceptable situation. Students in County Leitrim are losing out. The education system is failing children in the county. Putting them on a bus and sending them to counties Sligo or Roscommon is not the answer.

Pat Gallagher (Donegal, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The Deputy will have further opportunity to reply.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I am calling on the Minister for Education and Skills to rectify the situation and ensure all students have access to the leaving certificate applied irrespective of where they live.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank Deputy Scanlon for raising this issue. It is our desire that parents and children should have the best pathway possible available to them. I see from the statistics in respect of County Leitrim that while last year no children from County Leitrim participated in the leaving certificate applied, the previous year 11 children took part. It is not that no school is offering it. Where children seek it in a school that provides it they obviously will be provided with the option. The Department has not imposed cutbacks in any way in this area - far from it. A school that decides to take on the leaving certificate applied gets an additional allocation of half a teaching post regardless of the number of children who take it on. We have taken steps to ensure there is resourcing available for schools to take this on. Notwithstanding that, it is true that about one third of all schools offer the leaving certificate applied. It is not every school, by any means, but it is available and they get the premium staffing resource to allow them to deliver it. We do not compel schools to provide it. We do not have the legal power to compel schools to run particular items of curriculum apart from elements of the curriculum that are compulsory. We do not have that power. It is up to the local schools to decide, based on the needs and desires of their pupils, to provide this programme. We provide a substantial incentive to support them in providing that programme.

It is correct, as the Deputy says, that there has been some decline in participation, which is down from 5.8% in 2010 to 4.7%. The NCCA is reviewing this, along with the rest of the leaving certificate, to see if provision in this area is appropriate to the needs of all children who are offering to participate in the leaving certificate programme. We will look specifically at things that may be discouraging participation such as its standing with employers. We will also look at the pathways. It is hoped that the leaving certificate applied can provide a pathway into post-leaving certificate courses, traineeship and other options so that it is an attractive pathway.

4 o’clock

However, we do not do what the Deputy has suggested and impose an obligation on schools to provide the leaving certificate applied programme. It is the responsibility of each school to decide the matter based on its student composition. If the Deputy wishes to draw attention to a particular case though, I would be happy to get the advice of appropriate agencies in the Department for him and the family concerned.

Eamon Scanlon (Sligo-Leitrim, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I thank the Minister for his response. I understand his point and have read the answers to my parliamentary questions. Officials write those answers, but the Minister, like me, must consider the human side of this matter. We meet the people who attend our clinics.

The case in question involves a single mother with a young child for whom a psychologist has recommended a leaving certificate applied course, but such a course is not available in the child's school. I understand the Minister's comments on extra staffing, but if the school cannot, or refuses to, offer the course, I do not know what can be done. The mother is out of her mind with worry, as the parent of any child with special needs would be. She is working and providing for her family, but she is not in a position to drive 20, 30 or 40 miles to and from another school. The stress that she is being placed under is unfair.

I will revert to the Minister regarding this case. Through his good office, will he do everything that he can to ensure that this child is catered for?

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

I will attempt to assist. It is a different programme with a different structure - vocational preparation, general education and vocational education - over four half-year blocks that are accredited at the end of each. The programme is not just an add-on, and a school undertaking it must commit to providing a certain structure to the course.

I do not know the details of individual schools, but it would appear that schools in Leitrim have provided this programme previously. Given that a number of children in Leitrim are offering to participate in it next year, they must be attending some school that is providing it. It may be possible that the programme can be provided in a school other than the one to which the child in question is attending.

This has nothing to do with cutbacks, which the Deputy suggested in his opening remarks. This is not a move to reduce the programme. We are constantly increasing our investment in this area and are trying to add resource teachers and so on to meet needs. This is a matter of seeking practical solutions to meet each individual's needs.

I will arrange for people to contact the Deputy so that we can see whether there is any assistance the Department can offer.