Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006
140 Mr. Crawford asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of cases in which legal proceedings have been instigated by the National Educational Welfare Board; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25728/06]
View answerThe National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 as the single national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework which promotes regular school attendance and tackles the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The general functions of the Board are to ensure that every child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education.
To discharge its responsibilities, the Board is developing a nationwide service on a continuing basis that is accessible to schools, parents/ guardians and others concerned with the welfare of young people. For this purpose, Educational Welfare Officers (EWOs) have been appointed and deployed throughout the country to provide a welfare-focused service to support regular school attendance and discharge the Board's functions locally.
The Board's main emphasis is on upholding the welfare of the child experiencing difficulty with school attendance and the family by ensuring that underlying problems that result in poor school attendance is dealt with before the issue becomes critical. The Act provides that a parent may be prosecuted where the Board forms the opinion that he or she is failing in his or her duty towards a child's education. Taking legal action is the last resort after every possible effort has been made to improve attendance and where the Board feels that a prosecution will bring about change. The focus of the EWO is to work with the family, the school and others to identify and address the reasons for the absences.
Research shows that legal action on its own does not remedy poor school attendance. A range of measures are needed to support schools and families. Significant work is being done in schools through a range of schemes including the School Completion Programme and the Home, School, Community Liaison scheme. My Department is working with the Board on developing protocols which will outline areas for cooperation and collaboration between EWOs and other services that work with children and young people in schools.
This government is determined to do all that is possible to ensure that every child gets all the opportunities and support they need to enable them to achieve their potential and participate fully in education.
As regards the Deputy's question relating to the number cases in which legal proceedings have been instigated by the National Educational Welfare Board, my Department has requested this information from the NEWB and I will respond directly to the Deputy when I have received the details requested.
