James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am pleased to have the opportunity to address Seanad Éireann in response to the Education (Welfare) (Amendment) Bill 2015 put forward by Senator Mary Moran. Any proposal that seeks to raise the education and skill level of young people when they leave school and set out to make their way in the world must be welcome.

Government policy objectives are laid out in a national policy framework for children and young people, Better Outcomes, Brighter Future, which aims to support children and young people as they are today and who they can become in the future. Unsurprisingly, ensuring children and young people can achieve their full potential in learning and development is a key national outcome in the framework. This is a goal that is relevant at every stage of a child’s life, from the first months through to adulthood. The Bill addresses the latter part of that cycle, the minimum age at which a young person can leave the formal education system.

From my perspective as Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, the most important aspect to consider in this regard is the level and nature of education and skills young people have the opportunity to acquire, rather than the young person’s age. Young people must have the education and skills they need to make a decent and independent life for themselves and, I hope, their families in the future. There are a range of measures in place to support children and young people’s participation in education. They include fostering an inclusive school environment, bringing a whole-school approach to health and well-being as the basis for effective learning and ensuring a commitment to equality is firmly embedded in school planning arrangements in order that children in all their diversity have the opportunity to flourish.

It is important to recognise that one path does not suit all children, provision should promote different learning styles and recognise the acquisition of different skills and competencies. During consultations on the recently published national youth strategy, young people ranked learning and development as one of their top three priorities. They stressed the need for an adaptable education system which supported all young people, including those less academically oriented, by providing alternative opportunities, practical skills and vocational education. In that context, I welcome section 3 of the Bill which proposes that participation in vocational apprenticeships should satisfy the school attendance requirement, while noting the comments of the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O’Sullivan, and recognising that this proposal requires further consideration. I also acknowledge the role of the Department of Children and Youth Affairs in this regard, in supporting non-formal learning, both in and out of school settings. This year some €50 million in funding will support the voluntary youth services providing these opportunities for almost 380,000 young people.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs works closely with the Department of Education and Skills to secure the best outcomes for all children and young people, but the children at risk of early school leaving and educational disadvantage must be of particular concern to us all. Some 8.4% of children leave school early. That figure does not take account of those who go on to apprenticeships or other out-of-school training programmes within the first year of leaving school; it is lower than the EU 2020 target of 10% and there have been improvements in retention rates among children in disadvantaged areas in recent years, but the figure is still far too high. Where young people leave school without the education and skills they need to allow them to create a decent and independent life for themselves and their families, we have failed. While that failure impacts most severely on the young people concerned, we all suffer the lost potential of each of the children who leaves school early.

As part of the Government’s fundamental reform of provision for children and families, responsibility for educational welfare has been brought within the remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 requires that every child receive a minimum standard of education and Tusla’s educational welfare service includes several key supports for educationally disadvantaged children, including educational welfare officers, the school completion programme and the home-school community liaison programme. Effective responses to these issues must be outcome-focused and determined in collaboration with children and young people, their families and schools, as well as other agencies, where relevant. It may sound obvious, but it is easily forgotten that if we want to achieve better outcomes for children and young people, we must listen to them and work to support their parents and families. Parents are the primary educators of their children and the evidence tells us that family involvement is one of the key determinants of educational outcomes.

We must take account of the evidence about what works best for children and families when it comes to good educational outcomes. The recent Economic and Social Research Institute, ESRI, review of the school completion programme highlighted the need for improvements in governance and management, which are being implemented by Tusla, but was generally positive about the impact of the programme. Supporting children at critical transition points from preschool to primary and from primary to secondary school is also important to successful outcomes. Fundamentally, prevention and early intervention are much more effective than "cure". Appropriate early intervention, allied with high quality early years services, is the best way to ensure every child has a real and meaningful opportunity to realise his or her full potential, something that we all want for our children.

The fundamental reform of child and family services that the Government is implementing provides a real opportunity to change the way we interact with children and families to combat educational disadvantage. We need to leverage all of our investments in children and families to get the best results. I recently announced a major expansion of free preschool education and believe this investment, together with the ESRI review of the school completion programme, provides a real opportunity to embed the learning about early intervention and working with children and families to develop more effective responses to the issue of educational disadvantage. The first step in developing that more effective response must be listening to children and families. I am deeply committed to including children and young people in decisions that affect their Iives, not only because it is the right thing to do but also because it helps us to develop better policy. Nobody knows better than the children who have been through the system what needs to change. Last June I launched Ireland’s first national strategy for children and young people's participation in decision-making, 2015 to 2020. In that context, Senators may be interested to know that the topic selected by young people for the next Dáil na nÓg, which takes place on 27 November in Croke Park, is "The need for young people to have a stronger voice in their education and schools". l am very pleased, therefore, that the Minister for Education and Skills has agreed to join me at the event and address the young people attending and participate in the question and answer session.

The question of school leaving age is certainly one that should be discussed with children and parents, but the members of Dáil na nÓg will vote at the November session on the priority aspect of the education system they want to change. The 31 young people from the Comhairle na nÓg national executive will follow up on that objective in the following two years, supported by officials in the Departments of Children and Youth Affairs and Education and Skills.

I commend the Senator's initiative in bringing forward the Bill which has the potential to strengthen the legislative framework within which Tusla undertakes its work.Educational welfare service can involve an early intervention which may be relatively brief in nature or, where the problem is more complex, educational welfare officers can provide a more intensive and ongoing support for the child and family. Last year there were more than 17,000 early interventions with more intensive support being provided to over 2,400 children.

Under the school completion programme, Tusla provides a range of targeted supports, which can include homework clubs, breakfast clubs, mentoring, learning support, social and personal development as well as a range of out-of-school supports to approximately 37,000 children to enhance their participation in and engagement with education and school life. The home-school liaison aims to build on those important links between families, schools and local communities to support children's learning.

I know Senators will appreciate the need for consultation with a wide range of stakeholders to fully consider all the impacts of such a change. We have the policies and structures in place to ensure children and young people can have their say in the policies that most impact on their lives. Their perspectives are important and their input can enrich the discussions about this important measure.