Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 11 November 2014
465. Deputy Jonathan O'Brien asked the Minister for Education and Skills the provision made for students who are too young for Youthreach, and whom no local schools in their area will accept as a pupil. [43045/14]
View answerThe Educational Welfare Services (EWS) of the Child and Family Agency is the statutory agency which can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child. The EWS may be able to offer assistance and advice on securing a school placement. The contact details for the EWS Child and Family Agency Head Office, 16-22 Green Street, Dublin 7, phone number 01-8738700.
Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 provides for an appeal by a parent or guardian to the Secretary General of my Department, or in the case of an Educational Training Board (ETB) school to the ETB in the first instance, where a Board of Management of a school, or a person acting on behalf of the Board, refuses to enrol a student in a school, expels a student or suspends a student for 20 or more days in any school year. This Department has no authority to compel a school to admit a pupil, except in the case of an appeal under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998 being upheld.
My Department operates a number of home tuition schemes for children without a school place. Home tuition is intended as an interim provision only for children for whom a placement is not available and should not be regarded as an optional alternative to a place in school.
One such scheme is for children who do not have a school place and are without the offer of a school place and for whom a school place is being actively sought. This scheme requires a section of the application form to be completed by an Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) who is an officer of the EWS of the Child and Family Agency, to confirm that the child is without a school place. Application forms for this scheme are available from the EWO.
