Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 10 November 2015
342. Deputy Mary Mitchell O'Connor asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs the number of pupils who have been permanently excluded from school; the number who have failed to attend school from 2011 to date; the average age of these pupils; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [38988/15]
View answerSince 2014, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency under the remit of my Department, has a general function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The education welfare services of Tusla, comprising the statutory Education Welfare Officers, the School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme are key supports for children at risk of educational disadvantage. Prior to the establishment of Tusla, these functions were carried out by the former National Educational Welfare Board.
Under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, schools are required to notify Tusla, where a student is absent from a recognised school for twenty days or more, where a student is not attending a recognised school regularly and where a student is suspended from a recognised school for six days or more. Schools also provide annual returns to Tusla on the levels of attendance.
The most recent Annual Attendance Report published by Tusla covers the 2012-2013 academic year. The report shows that expulsions are rare. There were twenty three expulsions at primary level education out of 523,036 students and two hundred and eleven expulsions at secondary level out of 321,940 students in the 2012-13 academic year.
The information sought by the Deputy regarding the age of pupils or permanent exclusions is not readily available.
I am advised that when a Board of Management of a school forms the opinion that a student should be expelled it is required to notify the local Education Welfare Officer in writing. Schools cannot expel the student before the passing of 20 school days from the receipt of this notification. During this period the Education Welfare Officer will contact and consult with all parties concerned to try and ensure that there is a continuum of education put in place for the student. If parties are agreeable, a meeting may be facilitated by the Education Welfare Officer in an effort to get the student returned to the school in which he/ she is registered.
If this proves unsuccessful and the pupil is expelled, the Board of Management of a school must advise the parents of their right to appeal. The Education Welfare Officer will provide advice and assistance in relation to this process as well as advising them with regard to making applications to other schools should their appeal be unsuccessful.
If a student who has been expelled is unable to find an alternative school placement in the short term the Education Welfare Officer will assist parents in applying for Home Tuition as an interim solution and will continue to assist them is sourcing a placement in a recognised school or a place in an alternative education provision. Details of the annual school attendance reports for the 2012-13 academic year and earlier years are available on Tusla's website at http://www.tusla.ie/services/educational-welfare-services/publications/.
