Vol. 557 No. 2
215 Mr. Sargent asked the Minister for Education and Science if his attention has been drawn to the fact that back problems among school children may be due to the damaging design in much school furniture as well the heavy school bags required to be carried; and his plans to alleviate this suffering and hopefully prevent back problems in pupils developing into adulthood. [21808/02]
A working group was set up in autumn 1997 to examine the potential problems caused by the weight of heavy school bags. The terms of reference of the working group were to consider the issue of heavy school bags and in particular: the extent of the problem; the factors which contribute to the problem; and possible implications of the problem, particularly for the health of pupils. The group was also asked to formulate proposals to alleviate problems associated with the weight of schoolbags. The group presented its report in July 1998.
The group's report outlined a number of recommendations that had implications, not only for my Department, but for schools, parents and publishers. I have asked my officials to forward a copy of the report to the Deputy. The report acknowledged that many of the solutions belong at local school level and one of the main recommendations related to the need to heighten the awareness of the potential health hazards posed by excessively heavy schoolbags.
In this regard, my Department, at primary and post-primary levels, initiated an awareness raising campaign by disseminating the report, with an accompanying circular, to all primary and post-primary schools. Furthermore, information leaflets and posters were also distributed to all schools, highlighting the potential health hazard of heavy schoolbags and outlining a range of local measures that could be adopted to alleviate the problem. It is a matter for each school to choose those measures that would be most suited to its needs.
