Tom Neville
Question:477. Deputy Tom Neville asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if the case of a child (details supplied) will be addressed. [15156/19]
View answerTuesday, 2 April 2019
Questions (477)
Written answers
Early Intervention teams are under the remit of the Health Service Executive (HSE) therefore I am not in a position to comment on any decision made by this team.
Notwithstanding this, national policy, based on the principle in the best interests of the child, is that children should be in primary education by the age of six. Primarily legislation relating to this is primarily a matter for the Minister for Education and Skills under the Educational Welfare Act 2000.
In that Act, “child” is defined as “a person resident in the State who has reached the age of 6 years and who—
(a) has not reached the age of 16 years, or
(b) has not completed 3 years of post-primary education,
whichever occurs later, but shall not include a person who has reached the age of 18 years;”
The Educational Welfare Service (EWS) in Tusla established by the Act of 2000 has functions described under that Act, one of which in Section 10 (1) is to “ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education” and in that regard, the EWS maintain a register of all children, aged six years and over, who are in receipt of an education in a place other than a recognised school (Section 14(1)). Under the Act, it is the responsibility of a parent who “chooses to educate, or have educated, his or her child [6 years or over – see definition above], in a place other than a recognised school, he or she shall apply to the EWS to have the child concerned registered in the register”. There is then an onus on the EWS to inspect such provision to ensure that the child is receiving a certain minimum education.
The Early Childhood Care and Education programme (ECCE) was never intended to delay children's transition to primary school. Therefore it is important to note that “overage exemption” refers only to an exemption to the maximum eligible age for participation in the ECCE programme. It does not provide any exemption from the requirements under law for children aged 6 years and over to attend primary school or otherwise receive a certain minimum education.
Supports are available for school aged children through the National Council for Special Education (NCSE), affiliated to the Department of Education and Skills, to support children in a primary school setting. I would encourage this family to contact their local Special Education Needs Organiser (SENO) for further assistance.