Vol. 461 No. 1
141 Ms Shortall asked the Minister for Education the number of children under 15 years who are currently out of school in the Dublin 9 and Dublin 11 areas; and the steps, if any, she intends to take to deal with this problem. [2397/96]
Primary or second-level schools are not required to notify my Department of cases where children are suspended or otherwise excluded from schools and, consequently, I am not in a position to supply the Deputy with the information she has requested. Under the rules for national schools, no pupil shall be struck off the rolls for breaches of discipline without the prior consent of the patron and unless alternative arrangements are made for the enrolment of the pupil at another suitable school.
I am aware of the problem of children who are not attending school because they have been expelled or excluded from second-level schools and the related difficulties this presents for both schools and parents. The managerial authorities of second-level schools are responsible for ensuring that a fair and efficient code of behaviour, encompassing rules, sanctions and procedures, is drawn up and applied in the school.
Circumstances will vary from school to school and it is only those intimately involved with a particular school who can draw up the detail of a code of discipline appropriate for that school. Accordingly, the most effective method of countering indiscipline is for each individual school to draw up its own code of behaviour. In drawing up the code, school authorities should have regard to guidelines issued by my Department.
In 1990 and 1991, my Department issued Guidelines Towards a Positive Policy for School Behaviour and Discipline together with A Suggested Code of Behaviour and Discipline to all schools. Within these guidelines individual boards are given the discretion to work out specific details. The guidelines lay considerable stress on the use of suspension only as a last resort and I am satisfied that schools also see it in that way.
