Sorca Clarke
Question:60. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Education what representative groups were engaged with in the production of the new guidelines on restraint and seclusion. [4585/24]
View answerWednesday, 31 January 2024
Questions (60)
Written answers
I wish to thank the Deputy for her question. It is important to note that the Department is not preparing guidelines for schools on restraint and inclusion. The Guidelines in preparation are designed to develop and enhance schools’ understanding of behaviours of concern and to assist them in managing crisis situations. I can advise that my Department has carried out significant consultations in this process which, is still ongoing. We have engaged with education stakeholders and many advocacy groups in preparing the Guidelines and have endeavoured to take account of feedback provided.
In April 2019 there was a public consultation seeking contributions and views on the use of physical intervention and physical isolation in schools. This was undertaken by way of an online questionnaire and had over 2,600 respondents. The main contributors were school staff who made up over 80% of respondents and parents who totaled 12%. The remainder were from varied backgrounds but included representatives from healthcare professions, e.g., psychologists, speech and language therapists, and social workers and a small number from students.
In 2019, draft Guidelines issued to stakeholders for their consideration and discussion at a consultation event held in November 2019. Attendance at the event included primary and post-primary school management bodies, teacher and SNA unions, school principals representative bodies, disability representative organisations, parent representative bodies, academic institutions, principals of special schools, the OCO and the Department of Children and Youth Affairs. Submissions were also received separately from stakeholders unable to attend the consultation event, including the Health Service Executive and Brothers of Charity.
In January 2023 the draft guidelines were shared with principals of a number of special schools to review and receive their feedback. Further stakeholder consultation was undertaken in-person in April 2023. Additional stakeholder consultation and advocacy groups’ engagement was held in August and September 2023. We are also currently engaging with the OCO and Tusla on their review and input into the Guidelines. In addition, officials in my Department have engaged individually with key stakeholders on the Guidelines in preparation.