Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 29 September 2004
448 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of 12 to 13 year old children who did not transfer from primary to second level education and who are out of school at the moment. [21899/04]
Amharc ar fhreagraMy Department does not collate data on the number of pupils who do not transfer from primary to second level. The latest information, published in the NESF report on early school leaving, 2002, estimated that between 700 and 1,000 primary school pupils do not make the transition to second level. My Department is working on the development of the first phase of a comprehensive primary pupil database, which will facilitate the collation of comprehensive data on transfer rates from primary to second level in the future. My Department operates a number of programmes which assist primary school students in making the transition to second level. These include the home school community liaison scheme and the school completion programme. I have allocated approximately €40 million to support these programmes in 2004.
The National Educational Welfare Board was established under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 as the single national body with responsibility for school attendance. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The board is developing a nationwide service to provide welfare-focused services to children, families and schools to discharge its responsibilities.
The aim of the NEWB currently is to provide a service to the most disadvantaged areas, including areas designated under the Government's RAPID programme and most at-risk groups. Five regional teams are in place and an intensive service is provided in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Waterford and Galway and in 13 regional towns with significant school-going populations — Dundalk, Drogheda, Navan, Athlone, Carlow, Kilkenny, Wexford, Bray, Clonmel, Tralee, Ennis, Sligo and Letterkenny — 12 of which are designated under the Government's RAPID programme. In addition, the board follows up on urgent cases nationally, that is, where a child has no school place or he or she has been absent for 60 days or more or where there is a care or a court dimension.
Under section 21 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, primary and post-primary schools are required to submit a report each year on the levels of attendance to the National Educational Welfare Board. Reports have been received from most schools for 2003-04 and the analysis of these is under way. Preliminary findings indicate that the average attendance at primary level was 93.5% with 12 days absence on average for each pupil. The corresponding figures were 91.3% and 15 days absence at post-primary level. The findings also indicate that absences over 20 days by pupils were 11% and almost 19% at primary and post-primary level respectively. The data collected from this analysis will assist the board in keeping the level of need for the new service in particular areas under review.
