My Department allocated additional teaching resources to the school concerned to cater for the needs of a number of pupils, including the pupil referred to by the Deputy. A psychologist from the national educational psychological service is in regular and ongoing contact with the school and the parents of the pupil.
Section 29 of the Education Act 1998 provides for an appeal to the secretary general of my Department where a board of management of a school or a person acting on its behalf refuses to enrol a student; suspends a student for a cumulative total of more than 20 days in an academic year; or expels a student from the school. I have arranged for information relating to section 29 appeals to be sent to the pupil's parents.