I propose to take Questions Nos. 461 to 466, inclusive, together.
As the Deputy will be aware, under Section 15 of the Education Act 1998, the Board of Management is the body charged with the direct governance of a school and is therefore responsible for making decisions as to the types of activities in which the school gets involved. The decision as to whether to accept sponsorship or partake in promotions is one for the Board of Management to take and naturally, the Board of Management should only engage in activities that are in the best interests of their students.
Private companies are also free to promote their business in accordance with accepted marketing practices. There are accepted marketing standards, such as compliance with advertising regulations which guide, inform and control the relationship between the vendor and the potential customers. Decisions in relation to participation in promotions are taken at individual school level and there is no requirement that schools report to my Department on this issue. The data requested by the Deputy in relation to the numbers of companies involved is therefore not available within my Department.
In making such decisions, it is important that schools strike a balance between the potential benefit to be gained from positive links with businesses while at the same time protecting children and their parents from inappropriate marketing etc. In this context, my Department's circulars - while entrusting school authorities with deciding which activities to engage in - explicitly require them to ensure that pressure is not placed on parents to buy particular products.
My Department recognises the sensitivities attached to the issue of promotion initiatives linking schools, pupils and parents to commercial activity. However, it would be inappropriate to prohibit marketing or sponsorship initiatives, provided that such schemes do not place undue pressure on parents in terms of additional expenditure, that children are protected from engagement in inappropriate promotional activity and that the schemes are linked to desirable projects of educational value.
I have previously stated my position that schools need to be accountable generally to parents and we need greater levels of communication, engagement and transparency in how schools serve their communities. In that context, I am planning on introducing legislative amendments to underpin a Parents' and Students' Charter.
The legislative amendments will set out the key principles that should apply in the relationship between a school and its parents and students. They will also create a power for the Minister to publish statutory guidelines that will be based on these principles and which will set out detailed actions and standards that will apply in all schools.
The legislation will require consultation with the education partners on the detailed content of the Charter. Issues such as that raised by the Deputy can be considered as part of this process.
