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Dáil Éireann díospóireacht -
Tuesday, 21 Nov 2000

Vol. 526 No. 3

Written Answers. - Parental Participation in Education.

Thomas P. Broughan

Ceist:

121 Mr. Broughan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will outline each initiative within the education system which is aimed at increasing parental participation in the education of their children; the initiatives which are pilot projects; those which are mainstream; his plans to introduce further initiatives in this area; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [26510/00]

As the primary educators, parents have a critical role to play in their children's education. This is underpinned by the provisions of Article 42.1 of the Constitution. A number of measures have been taken or encouraged by my Department to enhance the role of parents in their children's education. These include: the setting up of the National Parents' Council to facilitate participation by parents in consultations with the Government and other education partners about the development of educational policies; the payment of an annual grant towards the expenses of the council which operates in two tiers, primary and post-primary; representation of parents on the boards of management of schools and on vocational education committees; the establishment of parents' associations in schools; the development of home/school/community liaison schemes; representation of parents on the senior and junior cycle committees of the NCCA; and the school development planning initiative, – SDPI – for schools was established on a pilot basis in 1999 and will be extended on a phased basis to encompass all schools by 2002. The initiative encourages the involvement of parents in the school planning process.

Parents are represented on the consultative group that oversees the implementation of the initiative. Other measures include: close consultation with parents in the development of each school's behaviour and discipline policies; regular formal meetings between parents and school management; distribution of departmental circulars to parents through the parents' associations; a central role for parents in breaking the cycle pilot project – this pilot project currently operates in 32 urban schools and 122 rural schools; and parents are key partners in the early start pilot project – the early start pre-school pilot project operates in 40 primary schools with a total of 56 classes.

My Department actively encourages parental involvement in the education of their children and will continue to do so. As the recognised primary educators of the child, parents have a right to be assured that the child's needs are being met by the school. Parents should be given as much information as possible on all aspects of the child's progress and development.

A concrete example of my Department's resolve in this regard is the recently published guidelines for parents on the revised primary school curriculum entitled "Your Child's Learning". Copies of these guidelines which are intended to assist parents in enhancing their children's education have been distributed to all parents of primary school children through the school network.
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