Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 27 July 2021
1041. Deputy Pa Daly asked the Minister for Education the estimated number of children with special needs that have withdrawn from schools in County Kerry by school in each of the years 2015 to 2020 and to date in 2021, in tabular form. [40590/21]
View answerThe data requested by the Deputy is not available in my Department.
It is the policy of my Department that all children with Special Educational Needs can have access to an education appropriate to their needs, preferably in school settings through the primary and post primary school network.
Such placements facilitate access to individualised education programmes which may draw from a range of appropriate educational interventions, delivered by fully qualified professional teachers, with the support of Special Needs Assistants and the appropriate school curriculum.
In circumstances, where no placement is available for a child with special educational needs, the Department can provide Home Tuition grant funding towards the provision of 20 hours home tuition per week as an interim measure until the NCSE confirms that a placement is available. Further information on the Home Tuition Grant Scheme is available on my Department's website www.education.ie.
Under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 parents are responsible for making sure their child receives an education. The law also says that every child between the ages of 6 and 16 must attend school or otherwise receive an education. Most children attend recognised schools although some are educated at home or in non-recognised schools.
If a parent decides to educate their child outside of a recognised school, for example in the home, they must register the child with the Child and Family Agency; further information is available on www.tusla.ie in this regard. This requirement exists in order to support parents in their right to home educate and to safeguard a child’s right to a minimum education.
Under Section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 the board of management of every recognised school is legally obliged to prepare a code of behaviour in respect of the students registered in their school. This code of behaviour is prepared in consultation with the principal, teaching staff, the parents of students registered in the school and the Educational Welfare Officer (EWO). Furthermore the code of behaviour is prepared in accordance with such guidelines issued by Tusla Education Support Services.
In instances where the board of management of a recognised school is of the opinion that a student should be expelled from their school, the board must, before expelling the student, notify the EWO in writing and outline the reasons for the proposed expulsion. Section 24 (3) of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 provides that the EWO shall, after receiving such notification, make all reasonable efforts to consult with the principal or person nominated by the principal, the student and his or her parents and convene a meeting attended by such of those persons as agree to attend such a meeting.
The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 section 24 (4) provides that a student shall not be expelled from a school before the passing of 20 school days following the receipt of a notification under section 24 of this act, by an Educational Welfare Officer (EWO). Where a board of management make a decision to permanent exclude a student, a parent/guardian can appeal that decision under section 29 of the Education Act, 1998, and an independent appeals committee will be appointed to consider the appeal.
Since the inception of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 schools are obliged to report on school attendance. Schools report individual student absences and expulsions to TUSLA, my Department does not collect data requested by the Deputy.
Further information and details of how a school can submit an attendance report to TUSLA on its website at www.tusla.ie/tess/tess-ews/reporting-absenteeism/. The Educational Welfare Services (EWS) of the Child and Family Agency can assist parents who are experiencing difficulty in securing a school place for their child or can offer assistance where a child is out of school.
