The Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin T.D. said that a recent audit of schools enrolment policies shows that "some schools are meeting the widest range of community needs while others are less so." The Minister was addressing delegates at the second level teachers TUI conference in Wexford today .
Minister Hanafin said there is a responsibility on all schools to be welcoming and inclusive of children from every background and with special needs. "The Department undertook an audit of school enrolment policies and compiled data on the number of travellers, newcomers and children with special needs in individual schools.
While the results do not point to a nationwide problem, there are certain geographical pockets where, within a cluster of schools, the evidence would point to certain schools assuming a greater or lesser share of the responsibility for meeting the full range of community needs."
Minister Hanafin said that some local factors can have an influence and an element of "self-selection can also come into play, as may happen when a newcomer community opts for a particular school. Nonetheless, I am also conscious that certain subtle practices by individual schools can have the effect of discouraging particular groups - such as children with special needs - from applying for school places.
We have to ensure that all schools are open to students of all backgrounds. To that end, there are a number of policy options that now need to be considered with a view to promoting inclusion across the board and addressing local situations where problems are identified."
Minister Hanafin said one of the practical steps she intends pursuing is to "give parents a greater understanding of their rights under the Education Act and under wider Equality legislation. Parents need to be informed by schools of their rights if they are refused a place in a school. We are conscious that not all parents who are accessing education services for their child may have the fullest understanding of the language as they could be newcomers themselves."
The Minister said that she also intends to discuss with the education partners a range of other issues, such as
* The effectiveness of the current system of appealing against non-enrolment;
* The consequences that practices such as retaining pre-enrolment waiting lists of several years or favouring children of past-pupils can have for newcomer families;
* The potential for improved cooperation between schools in a given area with a view to meeting the full needs of their local community; and
* How identified problems can best be addressed.
"Over the coming weeks, I will be consulting with each of the education partners on the policy options available and I look forward to receiving the input of the TUI on behalf of its members" said Minister Hanafin.