Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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226. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the avenues of redress parents or pupils have, in the event that a dispute arises between a person and the board of management of a school that cannot be resolved and remains an outstanding grievance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22430/14]

Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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227. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the person to whom the board of management is answerable to in the event that a person is not satisfied with the outcome of their grievance; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [22431/14]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 226 and 227 together.

The Deputy will be aware that under the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed by school Boards of Management, on behalf of the school patrons or trustees. Accordingly, whereas I provide funding and policy direction for schools, neither I nor the Department have legal powers to instruct schools to follow a particular course of direction with regards to individual complaint cases, or to investigate individual complaints except where the complaint involves a refused enrolment, expulsion or suspension, in accordance with Section 29 of the 1998 Education Act. In dealing with parental complaints, my Department's role is to clarify for parents how their grievances and complaints against schools can be progressed. Where a parent feels that the school's board of management has failed to investigate or adequately investigate their complaint, they should contact the Ombudsman for Children.

The Office of the Ombudsman for Children may independently investigate complaints about schools recognised with the Department of Education and Skills, provided the parent has firstly and fully followed the school's complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the action of the school has had a negative affect on a child. The office can be contacted at Ombudsman for Children's Office, Millennium House, 52-56 Great Strand Street, Dublin1, (Ph) 1800 20 20 40 or (01) 8656800, E-mail oco@oco.ie.

Section 28 of the Education Act 1998 provides for grievance and appeal procedures in schools. It expresses a desirability of determining appeals and resolving grievances in the school concerned. Section 29 of the Act sets out a limited set of circumstances a parent can appeal administrative decisions of a school. These are confined to expulsions, suspensions or refusal to enroll. The Government has approved the drafting of the Admissions to School Bill 2014 in which the extent to which refusal to enroll will or will not be subject to a Section 29 appeal will be addressed.

I am not satisfied with the current provisions of Section 28. I plan to revise it in order to provide in law for a Parent and Student Charter. Changing how schools engage with, listen and respond to parent concerns will be an important part of a Charter. Providing parents with the rationale for any decision is important. If schools help parents to understand the basis for a decision parents are more likely to accept the fairness of decisions.