Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 20 March 2024
412. Deputy Peter Burke asked the Minister for Education if she will provide details of the process whereby a parent can appeal a decision taken by a primary school and its board of management in relation to the welfare of a student; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [11923/24]
View answerUnder the Education Act 1998, legally, all schools are managed by the school Board of Management and as my Department has no role in the employment of staff in schools or the day to day management of schools, a complaint about a child’s school and its staff should be made to the school itself.
Accordingly, while my Department provides funding and policy direction for schools, my Department does not have the power to instruct schools to follow a particular course of direction with regard to individual complaint cases or to investigate individual complaints except where the complaint involves a refused enrolment, expulsion or suspension, in accordance with section 29 of the Education Act, 1998. In dealing with parental complaints, my Department's role is to clarify for parents how their grievances and complaints regarding schools can be progressed.
Where a parent has a concern about a child at school they can discuss the matter informally with the class teacher and/or the principal. If the matter cannot be resolved informally, the school should have a formal complaints procedure that can be followed. This procedure should set out what a parent may have to do and how long it should take to deal with a complaint. The role and responsibilities of the principal and board of management should also be set out. The complaint procedures currently operated by most schools are the standard procedures that have been agreed between the teacher unions and school management bodies and a copy should be provided by schools to a parent on request.
Where a parent is of the view that a school's board of management has failed to investigate or adequately investigate their complaint, they should bring the matter to the attention of the patron. In the event that, after raising its concerns with the school patron, a parent still considers that the matter has not been resolved, it is open to the parent to raise the matter with the Ombudsman for Children.
The Office of the Ombudsman for Children may also independently investigate complaints relating to the administrative actions of a school recognised by the Department of Education provided the parent has fully followed the school's complaints procedures. The key criterion for any intervention by the Ombudsman for Children is that the administrative actions of a school has, or may have, adversely affected the child.
Further information is available on the gov.ie website: www.gov.ie/en/policy-information/complaints-about-schools/.
