Paul Gogarty (Dublin Mid West, Green Party)
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Question 492: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the rules that exist regarding visits by parents to schools to discuss their son or daughter's suspension; if anyone other than a spouse can accompany them, such as a neighbour, a friend or other party; if this is a matter for the board of management or principal; if this is covered under legislation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37712/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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My Department has provided guidelines to Boards of Management to assist them in discharging their obligations in the area of school discipline. These guidelines, which still apply, were drawn up following consultation with representatives of management, teachers and parents, and are sufficiently flexible to allow each school authority to adapt them to suit the particular needs of the school. Each Board of Management is responsible for formulating, in consultation with parents, a fair and efficient code of behaviour. Among other things, the current guidelines provide that Codes of Behaviour should be considered in the context of the school being a community in which mutual respect, co-operation and natural justice are integral features. The Guidelines stress that poor behaviour can stem from a range of causes, some of them external to the school, some possibly arising from the home environment, and some from emotional or physical problems. It is important to identify problems as early as possible.

Good parent-teacher and home-school links are vital in this context. The Guidelines advise that Parents should be encouraged to visit the school to familiarise themselves with the environment, to discuss their children's progress and, when necessary, aspects of their behaviour in a spirit of mutual co-operation. The guidelines also advise that schools must ensure that the rules of natural justice apply. Pupils and, when necessary, their parents, should be advised of the nature of any complaint and be given an opportunity to respond. The question of who might accompany a parent would be a matter for the board of management of the school to decide based on the circumstances of the case. Parents should also be informed of their right of appeal to the next level of authority.

Section 21 of the Educational (Welfare) Act 2000 provides that where a student is suspended from a recognised school for a period of not less than 6 days, the principal of the school shall inform the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) in writing of the suspension. The EWO is then required to consult with the student, his or her parents, the principal and such other persons as he or she considers appropriate and to make all reasonable efforts to ensure that provision is made for the continued education of the child and his or her full participation in school. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) is at present developing further guidelines for schools on Codes of Behaviour, as provided for under section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000. Work on the guidelines is at an advanced stage and will be informed by broad consultation. It is envisaged that implementation will commence in the current school year. Parents also have the right, under Section 29 of the Education Act 1998, to appeal to the Secretary General of my Department, against a decision made by a school's Board of Management to suspend a student from the school for a period which would bring the cumulative period of suspension to 20 school days in any one school year.