National Educational Welfare Board An Overview. Jean Rafter. Regional Manager Leinster South

21 April 2006 Presentation Outline Overview of the Irish Education system Structure of the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) Role and Functions of the NEWB Legislation on school attendance School Attendance Data Causes of Poor Attendance Interventions with families Roma Children in Education

21 April 2006 Irish Education System Compulsory school age is 6 to st Level – Primary. Mostly run by religous communities but state funded (Age 5-12) 2 nd Level – Post Primary. Secondary, Community, Vocational all state funded.(Age /18) 3 rd Level – Universities and Colleges of Technology.

21 April 2006 National Service established 2002 Regional structure - 5 regions across the country Each has a Regional Manager and a number of Educational Welfare Teams 73 staff in service delivery Deliver a service in 30 locations Supported by HR, Finance and IT Departments Structure of the NEWB

21 April 2006

Leinster South Region 1 Regional Manager 2 Teams, each with a Team Leader and 6 Educational Welfare Officers (EWOs) Covers 6 counties. School going population of 125,000 children (approx)

21 April 2006 Role and Functions of the NEWB Ensure all children 6 – 16 attend school or otherwise receive a minimum education Promote high levels of school attendance Support families where there are difficulties Assist and advise parents on rights and responsibilities Advise schools on responsibilities under the legislation Home Education : Assessment and Registration Research into causes of poor attendance

21 April 2006 Legislation on School Attendance Education ( Welfare) Act, 2000 Outlines powers of an EWO Right of every child to receive an education Outlines obligation on parents and schools NEWB must exhaust all welfare approaches before taking legal proceedings for non school attendance (Also other Children’s Legislation,Child Protection Guidelines etc.)

21 April 2006 School Attendance Data Primary pupils miss on average 10 days per year, this rises to 17 days in the most disadvantaged urban areas Post Primary pupils miss on average 14 days per year, this rises to 21 days in the most disadvantaged urban areas On average 57,000 children miss school on any given day 110,000 children miss over 20 school days in the school year.

21 April 2006 Causes of Poor Attendance Poverty Poor parental support for formal education Family instability and moves Caring for younger siblings Cultural issues Special Educational Needs Emotional/Behavioural difficulties Bullying

21 April 2006 Causes of Poor Attendance Contd. Post Primary - academic focus doesn’t meet all children’s needs Critical stage = from ‘learning to read’ to ‘reading to learn’ stage Participation in school life is crucial to school retention Strong correllation between poor attendance and early school leaving

21 April 2006 Interventions with Families Work with the school and school support services Link families in with other statutory and voluntary services Through assessment, case planning and review with all stakeholders set targets and work together to remove the barriers to attendance With other services, target supports at vulnerable groups eg. transition, traveller and Roma children

21 April 2006

Roma Children in Education Poor language skills Parents may not have had formal education Cultural issues Families arriving post 2007 have no entitlements Regular moves Families often reluctant to engage with services

21 April 2006