Vol. 564 No. 5
222 Mr. Wall asked the Minister for Education and Science if he is satisfied that where it is necessary for the transfer of psychological reports for pupils when they are transferring from primary to secondary level, the transfer is satisfactory; if his Department plans to streamline the system; if so, the timescale of such plans; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10061/03]
Psychological reports are highly confidential documents with a restricted circulation. Their primary purpose is to provide advice to the adults who are mainly concerned with children who have been assessed. Normally, these reports are supplied to the school attended by the child and-or to the child's parents.
When a child is about to leave primary school, the parents of children who are the subject of any confidential reports should be contacted. They should be given the option of either taking the reports themselves, or of giving written consent to the primary school principal to send the reports, to the relevant post primary school. In no circumstances should schools forward psychological reports to other schools or agencies unless they have written parental consent to do so. It should be noted that, if a psychological report is more than two-three years old, its usefulness is likely to be limited. My Department has no plans to arrange for the automatic transfer of psychological reports from primary to post-primary schools.
