Written answers

Tuesday, 7 March 2023

Department of Education and Skills

Education Welfare Service

Photo of Mattie McGrathMattie McGrath (Tipperary, Independent)
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395. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her Department's process for students who have disengaged from mainstream education and have shown several signs of challenging behaviour; the supports in place for students; the services her Department offers; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11415/23]

Photo of Josepha MadiganJosepha Madigan (Dublin Rathdown, Fine Gael)
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The Board of Management of each school is responsible for the care and safety of all of the pupils in their school. Schools should supervise and support children who are distressed or exhibiting behaviours which are of concern to others until they have recovered and are able to re-engage in the classroom.

NCSE employs a number of specialist roles to support schools and build teacher capacity in the areas of autism and behaviour. These roles include autism advisors and behaviour advisors, who are assigned across regional support teams to provide advice and support to schools.

Schools and teachers can access in-school support is making a request through the NCSE in-school support portal at: ncse.ie/in-school-support

Training is available for schools in relation to the provision of support for children with special educational needs from the NCSE’s Regional Support Service. This service can, as part of the designated training modules, provide guidance for schools in relation to the management of difficult behaviour.

The NCSE also has also developed resources for teachers to support positive behaviour in school and resources for parents of primary aged children at home and post primary aged young people. Other useful resources such as videos for parents can be accessed through the NCSE’s YouTube channel.

Schools may also seek advice and support from their local National Educational Psychological Services in dealing with behavioural issues.

A range of guidance is available for schools in relation to the management of student behaviour. Tusla's Educational Welfare Service, has published guidelines for schools on Codes of Behaviour which all schools are required by law to have in place. The Department published Guidelines for Supporting Pupils with Behavioural, Emotional, and Social Difficulties, which is available on the gov.ie website, gov.ie - National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) resources and publications (www.gov.ie).

Furthermore, on receipt of policy advice from the NCSE, the Department of Education established an Expert Working Group to develop guidelines for schools on the prevention and management of challenging behaviours (including the use of physical interventions) where such behaviour is considered as likely to present serious risk of physical harm to the student concerned and/or others within the school environment.

Development of the Guidelines has been informed by evidence showing that whole school positive behavioural approaches and early and ongoing engagement with the school community, including parents/guardians, are necessary for the development of effective school policy and practice.

Following consideration of the views and contributions received as part of the consultation process, a final draft of the guidelines has been prepared and is being considered by the Department. They place a strong focus on prevention and early intervention strategies for the management of crisis situations in which physical intervention may be employed only as the last part of a comprehensive, positive and planned behavioural approach by the school. They are underpinned by the principles that such intervention is never used for the purposes of discipline; that it should be applied proportionately and should last only as long as is necessary to de-escalate the situation. The guidelines underline the importance of continued supervision of children during a crisis period including matters related to behaviour and the need for such incidents to be recorded.

The guidelines when issued will apply to all schools. In this regard, consideration is being given to the implementation of guidelines by schools including the kind of supports and training that may be required.

Finally, my Department funds a small number of alternative education settings for students who have disengaged from mainstream education provision including the five Youth Encounter Projects, the Cork Life Centre, City Motor Sports and the Carline Learning Centre. These settings provide an important service for a small cohort of students who have become disengaged from mainstream education. Students are referred to these settings from a range of sources including the Education Welfare Service and the student’s mainstream school.

Action 88 of the DEIS Plan provided for a review of current out of school education provision to inform future policy in this area. This review has been completed and the Report on the Review of Out-of-School Education Provision was published in May 2022. The report sets out an implementation plan to progress the recommendations of the review.

A working group consisting of a representative cross section of expertise from relevant Government Departments and agencies was established in September 2022 to oversee the implementation of the recommendations of the report. This work is currently in progress.

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