Michael McGrath (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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215. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the steps her Department will take to ensure that a child (details supplied) in County Cork who is due to sit the junior certificate in June 2018 has a school place for the remainder of the school year; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [18477/18]

Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent)
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Tusla Educational Welfare Services has advised that it has not received a referral from St. Peter’s Community School, Passage West, Co. Cork in relation to the child’s absence from school. However, the local Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) has spoken to the child’s mother by phone on a number of occasions in an advisory capacity. The young person is a 3rd year student in the school. Her mother advises she is refusing to attend school due to bullying.

Tusla also advised that the EWO also spoke to the school principal of St. Peter’s Community School who advised that the child concerned still has a place in the school and the bullying situation had been addressed. He also advised that the child is welcome back to the school and that special arrangements could be put in place in order for her to sit the Junior Certificate there. The EWO also advised the child’s mother that it would be very difficult to secure an alternative school place so late in the academic year and close to the start of the Junior Certificate exams.  The Principal said he would contact the child’s mother to invite her into the school in an attempt to resolve the issue and the EWO advised the child’s mother of this.

The EWO also proposed that she could assist the child’s mother to secure a place on a Youthreach Programme and that the child could attend there for the last few weeks of the academic year and sit the Junior Cert there, with a view to applying for a mainstream school place for September.