asked the Minister for Education if the school management board structure has proved adequate in facilitating the running of the youth encounter projects, with particular reference to the Cork and Limerick projects, the manner in which these projects are being allowed to develop their own ethos, if the special national school structure has been sufficiently creative and flexible for effectively carrying out the therapy-counselling role of this type of treatment, and if so, how this has worked in practice.
Written Answers. - Youth Encounter Projects.
211.
Since the fundamental aim of these projects is educational in character, the school management board-special national school structure is the most appropriate and is sufficiently creative and flexible for the purpose. The actual curriculum, including the therapy-counselling element, varies from project to project and reflects the environment and the special needs of the pupils concerned. It is not feasible at this early stage of the operation of the experiment to be categorical in relation to the degree of success which may be achieved in the long term.
212.
asked the Minister for Education the reason the Cork youth encounter project was not evaluated in dependently, similar to the current evaluation of the Dublin and Limerick projects, during the course of its operation.
The process of independent evaluation, which can only be undertaken after a reasonable period of experience of the operation of the schemes, commenced in January 1980. Since the Cork project was not in operation at that time, it did not come within the scope of this evaluation.
213.
asked the Minister for Education the names of all persons presently engaged in evaluating the youth encounter projects in Dublin and Limerick, and if it is intended that the Cork project will be similarly evaluated.
The projects in question are being evaluated by the Educational Research Centre, St. Patrick's College of Education, Dublin. If and when another youth encounter project is established in Cork, the question of its being similarly evaluated will be considered in the context of the prevailing circumstances, including such information as may be available from the evaluation of the other projects in Dublin and Limerick.
214.
asked the Minister for Education the reasons the Cork youth encounter project was not independently evaluated and did not continue in operation for a trial period of four years in view of his reply to a parliamentary question on 11 May 1978 and the statement by the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education on 5 May 1977 that the projects are pilot projects, will be initially for a trial period of four years and will be independently evaluated.
While it is anticipated that these projects, which are of an experiemental nature, may normally operate for a period of up to four years, it is open to a board of management to recommend the closure of a project at any time, in the light of the board's experience of the operation of the scheme since the date of its inception. In the case of the Cork project, the board of management recommended that the school should be closed as from 30 September 1979.
215.
asked the Minister for Education if he will outline the part played by the inspectors of his Department in advising the board of management of the Cork youth encounter project directly before closure of the project, the meetings, if any, that took place between these inspectors and the board, the names of those present and the dates of such meetings, if the meetings were properly notified and minutes recorded, if so, if the minutes are available; if his inspectors advised closure of the project and, if so, the reasons for this advice.
During the course of the project, inspectors of my Department visited the school on various occasions and discharged their functions in accordance with the official procedure for the inspection of schools. The advice given by inspectors to school managements and staffs is generally regarded as confidential as between the persons concerned.
216.
asked the Minister for Education if inspectors of his Department and the management board of the Cork youth encounter project ascertained the liaison between the Cork school attendance officers and the Cork youth encounter project and, if so, if he will outline the nature of this liaison.
The Cork school attendance service was one of the agencies which referred children to the youth encounter project. Furthermore, as the project was a recognised national school, the school attendance officers fulfilled their statutory responsibilities under the School Attendance Act in the same way as they do in respect of any other national school. Both my Department's inspectors and the board of management were aware of the nature of service being provided by the school attendance officers in this case.
217.
asked the Minister for Education the names and addresses of the members of the steering committee of the youth encounter projects, the qualifications of each, the Department represented by each and the function of each member, if the advice of the committee was sought before the closure of the Cork youth encounter project, and if so, its recommendations.
The Steering Committee of the Youth Encounter Projects is made up as follows: representing Department of Education: four school inspectors, one child care adviser, one psychologist, two administrators; representing Department of Health: one administrator; representing Department of Justice: one welfare officer. The Chairpersons of the individual projects. The Director of the Educational Research Centre and a Research Associate.
The names and address of the participants have not been announced.
The functions of the Steering Committee are as follows: (a) to co-ordinate work in the projects and to ensure that the aims and the methodology are similar; (b) to receive regular reports from the boards of management; (c) to examine problems and to advise and assist in their solution; (d) to arrange for evaluation; (e) to ensure liaison with local health boards, social workers, juvenile liaison officers, and so on.
The Cork project had available to it at various stages of its development the advice of the steering committee. On the specific issue of closure, the advice of the steering committee was not sought.
218.
asked the Minister for Education the content of the recommendations obtained from the child care adviser of his Department in respect of the Cork youth encounter project, and if no such recommendations were sought, why.
Recommendations made to me on any matter by my Department's child care adviser are confidential.
Accordingly, I would not consider it open to me to state what such recommendations were in the case of the Cork youth encounter project.
219.
asked the Minister for Education the average attendance, per month from January 1979 to the date of closure, of the children attending the Cork youth encounter project, and the numbers on school rolls during that period.
Figures of average enrolment and attendance were not submitted to the Department on a monthly basis. The number enrolled in the school over the period in question ranged from ten to 13. The number of pupils observed in attendance over the same period varied from none to seven.
220.
asked the Minister for Education the dates on which the board of management of the Cork youth encounter project visited the project during its operation, the names of the members of the board of management and their record of attendance at board meetings, if the director is a member of that board and if not, if there were any resignations from the board during the period of its operation, if so, the arrangements made for replacements and by whom these arrangements were made.
It is not the practice to announce the names of the members of boards of management of national schools. The rules of procedures for these boards lay down that strict confidentiality must be observed in regard to their proceedings. I am not in a position therefore to furnish details of the operation of the board of the Cork youth encounter project on the lines requested.
The Director-Principal Teacher was a member of the board.
221.
asked the Minister for Education if he will outline the arrangements made for the young people of the Cork youth encounter project following its closure, if any of these young people have been in trouble with the law since the closure; and if their parents were consulted by the management board, or inspectors of his Department, either before or since the closure.
The Department's inspector informed the chief school attendance officer in Cork of the closure of the project and requested that the goods offices of the school attendance service be used to arrange for the alternative school placement of children to whom the School Attendance Act applied. I have no information as to whether any of these children have been in trouble with the law since the closure of the project.
222.
asked the Minister for Education the terms of reference of the director and other staff of the Cork youth encounter project, if the services of these staff are being retained for the period of the review of the project, and if not, why; the remuneration, if any, currently being paid to them, and if no such remuneration is being paid the effect this will have on their pension rights.
The Director Principal Teacher and the other staff of this school were employed subject to the provisions of the Rules and Regulations for National Schools.
The chairman of the board of management was notified in writing that staff appointments would be on a temporary basis for the period of the project. The Board of management advised the Department on 18 September 1979 that it had decided to close the school forthwith. In the circumstances, the Department agreed that the teachers should be paid three months' salary in lieu of notice. Service rendered on the project may be regarded as pensionable service subject to the provisions of the national teachers' superannuation scheme.
223.
asked the Minister for Education if he will give details of the furniture, equipment, and facilities available to the Cork youth encounter project on opening in January 1978, the date on which the fully renovated building was made available to the project and the subsequent dates on which the furniture arrived, the projected full complement of furniture, equipment and facilities and the total cost of these, if this full complement was made available during the course of the operation of the project and if not, why.
At the request of the board of management, my Department authorised the commencement of the project in January 1978 in temporary premises while the permanent building was being fully renovated. The project transferred to the permanent building at Easter 1978, although the renovations were not completed until later that year. Details of the delivery dates of the furniture are not available in my Department. Deliveries of school furniture depend on the availability of particular items and the willingness of contractors to accept orders for small quantities. The total cost of the furniture was £3,200.
224.
asked the Minister for Education the present plans regarding the re-opening of the Cork youth encounter project, the form the review of all aspects of its work to date has taken, and when the results of this review can be expected.
Already, I have arranged to meet members of the former board of management of the Cork youth encounter project to discuss the experience of the project. Pending such discussion, I am not in a position to make a statement in relation to the future of the project other than that the matter of its re-opening is being considered.
225.
asked the Minister for Education the cost of renovating the rectory building of the Cork youth encounter project prior to its closure; and if it is intended to use this building and the present facilities if and when the project re-opens.
The cost of renovating the rectory building was £14,000. No decision has yet been reached as to whether or not this building and its facilities will be used if a new project is undertaken.
226.
asked the Minister for Education the total cost of the Cork youth encounter project, the cost per pupil per year compared with (i) the Limerick and Dublin projects, (ii) other special residential schools at Lusk and Finglas, County Dublin and (iii) Loughan House, County Cavan.
Because of the fluctuating nature of the attendance at these projects and the diverse nature of the service provided in connection with these projects and in the special residential schools it is not feasible to compute comparative unit costs for these projects and for the special residential schools. I may state, for information, that the operational cost of the Cork Youth Encounter Project up to the date of closure was £40,705. The estimated cost per pupil for the school year 1978-79 was £2,115 for the Cork project as compared with £1,617 for the Limerick project and £1,146 for the Dublin project.
227.
asked the Minister for Education if any of the pupils of the Cork youth encounter project were involved in trouble with the law during the period of the operation of the project, if so, if he will specify the trouble; if any of the pupils were successfully re-directed to a normal school situation, or to gainful employment, if so, the schools, and the nature of the employment and the history of their behaviour since placement.
Such information was not supplied to my Department in connection with the general administration of the school by the board of management. I would not consider it appropriate that information of this nature in relation to individual pupils should be made available to the relevant officers of my Department other than on a confidential basis.
228.
asked the Minister for Education the names and addresses of those responsible for recruiting the staff of the Cork youth encounter project; if any of the staff were dismissed or have resigned; if so, the reasons; and how they were replaced and if all appointments made were approved by his Department.
Appointments to the teaching staff of the Cork youth encounter project were made in accordance with the guidlines for boards of management of national schools. One member of staff resigned in 1978 and took a post in another school.
All proposals for appointment were approved by my Department, with one exception. In that case the person proposed for appointment had not qualified as a teacher. At the request of the board, the services of the person in question were accepted, as an exceptional matter, for a limited period.
229.
asked the Minister for Education if he will meet a deputation of the parents of children who were attending the Cork youth encounter project and other interested groups (details supplied) during the Easter Recess, to discuss their assessment of the project.
Already I have arranged to meet members of the former board of management of the Cork Youth Encounter Project. I shall consider the question at a later date as to whether I should meet other deputations for a discussion of any relevant issues.
230.
asked the Minister for Education the staffing levels of the three Youth encounter Projects at the time of the closure of the Cork project: the number of pupils enrolled at the Limerick project for the period from 1 January 1979 to the time of closure of the Cork project: and the attendance figures for the Limerick project from this period.
At the time of the closure of the Cork Youth Encounter Project, the staffing levels of the three projects were: Cork—two teachers: Limerick two teachers: Dublin—three teachers.
The number of pupils enrolled in the Limerick project over the period in question varied from a maximum of 18 to a minimum of 12.
Attendance at the Limerick project over the period has varied from six to the present figure of 18.
231.
asked the Minister for Education the support services provided for the Youth Encounter Project staffs in Cork. Limerick, and Dublin; the manner in which these services are made available to the staff; and if any special arrangements have been made by his Department for the training of staff for the specialist task of working with deprived children with which these projects are involved.
The youth encounter projects have available to them the support of the welfare services of the Department of Justice and of the Southern Health Board and the normal health services provided for national schools. They also have a close relationship with child guidance clinics. Officers of my Department offer advice and assistance to them as appropriate.
Initially, my Department arranged a short study tour of similar projects abroad for the directors of the Cork and Limerick projects. In May 1979 a seminar to discuss common problems was organised in association with the Department of Health. In July 1979, staffs of the projects attended a one week course for teachers of adolescents with learning and social problems. Some members of the project staffs are currently attending special courses in remedial education.
232.
asked the Minister for Education if he will outline the exact nature of the relationship between "Ogra", and the Cork Youth Encounter Project in view of the statement by the then Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Education of 5 May 1977 to the effect that "Ogra" would take responsibility, with financial assistance from his Department, for projects in Cork, and his reply to a parliamentary question on 11 May 1978 wherein he stated that the distinctive feature of the projects is that each is being organised under the auspices of an existing youth organisation.
"Ogra" is an organisation concerned with the welfare of young people in Cork city. It was one of the bodies represented on the Cork "Youth at Risk" Committee which favoured the establishment of the Youth Encounter Project. The chairman of the board of management of the project was also the chairman of "Ogra".