Michael Creed
Question:845 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science the proposals he has to deal with the problem of school discipline at post primary level. [26757/01]
Vol. 543 No. 2
845 Mr. Creed asked the Minister for Education and Science the proposals he has to deal with the problem of school discipline at post primary level. [26757/01]
Each board of management is responsible for formulating, in consultation with parents, a fair and efficient code of behaviour. This code should ensure that the individuality of each child is accommodated, while acknowledging the right of each child to education in a relatively disruption free environment. This code should include provision for dealing with serious breaches of discipline and continuously disruptive pupils.
My Department has issued guidelines to boards to assist them in discharging their obligations in the area of school discipline. These guidelines were drawn up following consultation with representatives of management, teachers and parents, and are sufficiently flexible to allow each school authority to adapt them to suit the particular needs of the school. These guidelines lay considerable stress on the use of suspensions and expulsions only as a last resort.
In addition, my Department gives assistance in securing placement in individual cases. Typically, this can arise where a pupil has been excluded as a result of disruptive behaviour and where alternative arrangements need to be made. In these circumstances, my Department endeavours through a process of consultation with schools, involving my Department's inspectorate, to assist in the re-instatement of the pupil in the school, or alternatively, his or her placement in another school. In more difficult situations the national educational psychological service is available to assess pupils, in order to determine the nature and extent of any special needs with a view to having them addressed in the most appropriate manner.