February 2003
Information Update

A new departure

The Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 provides a comprehensive new framework for promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. All sections of the Act are now commenced.

The Act repeals the previous school attendance legislation and provides for the raising of the school leaving age to 16 years or the completion of three years’ post primary education, whichever occurs later.

Responsibility for attendance

The Act provides for the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board as the single national body with responsibility for encouraging and supporting regular school attendance. The Board has responsibility for ensuring that each child aged six and upwards attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education, unless a child comes within the specific exceptions set out in the Act. The Act outlines a range of functions and powers to enable the Board discharge its responsibilities.

Fully accessible

The Board will develop a nationwide service that is accessible to schools; parents/guardians and others concerned with the welfare of young people. For this purpose, Educational Welfare Officers (EWOs) will be appointed and deployed throughout the country to provide a welfare-focused service to support regular school attendance and discharge the Board’s functions locally.

Support for schools

The Board is required to assist schools in so far as it is practicable to meet their obligations under the Act.

Responsible for children educated outside of recognised schools

The Board also has responsibilities in relation to children who are educated outside of schools recognised by the Department of Education & Science and young people aged 16 and 17 who leave school early to go into employment.

Delivering the new service

The development of the new service involves the establishment of appropriate management and service delivery structures throughout the country.

Phased development

The service, which will have a regional structure, will be developed on a phased basis and in accordance with the resources allocated commencing in the current school year. Children who are not in receipt of an education, areas with high levels of disadvantage and areas that had a school attendance service under the previous legislation will receive priority.

Recruiting staff

The Board is currently recruiting senior management staff and a number of Education Welfare Officers will be recruited later.

Strategic plan

The Board will outline its priorities in further detail in a strategic plan to be developed over coming months. The Board will consult with the Education Partners in the course of developing this plan.

Managing school attendance

Policies and procedures

The Board is committed to ensuring that schools receive appropriate information and guidance on the implementation of the Act and it will work with the Education Partners in developing appropriate policies and procedures to support regular school attendance at local and national level.

Educational welfare officers

Locally based Educational Welfare Officers will, when appointed, work collaboratively with schools in implementing the legislation and in dealing with school attendance issues.

Transfer of school attendance officers

In areas that had a school attendance service under the auspices of a local authority, the school attendance officers are now staff of the Board and are authorised, already, to carry out a range of functions in relation to school attendance.

Monitoring and reporting

Under the Act, schools are required to monitor attendance and submit reports to the local Educational Welfare Officer in certain circumstances. Because of the phasing-in approach being adapted to the development of the new service, it will not be possible to have Educational Welfare Officers available in all areas of the country in the short term. The Board therefore will not be in a position to follow up on reports of student absences in areas where staff are not yet appointed. In these circumstances, schools are requested to continue to record, monitor and support school attendance in the normal way and follow existing good practice in this regard. Where urgent cases are reported, the Board will respond to the needs of the children concerned in as effective a way as possible within the resources available.

Standard system

It is the Board’s view that certain procedures and systems are necessary to enable schools to efficiently and effectively discharge their responsibilities and these will build on the existing infrastructure where possible. The Board will be working towards the development of a standard system for the recording of school attendance and the reporting of absences across all schools. The development of a national tracking system for children is a priority. Schools are advised not to enter into any new financial commitment in relation to the purchase and/or development of a new system. Further guidance will issue on this matter.

Development of national guidelines

The Board will develop national guidelines across a number of areas in consultation with the Partners and other relevant bodies to assist schools in meeting their obligations under the Act. There are a number of matters where guidelines may be required. These include school attendance strategies, the recording of attendances, submission of notifications and reports and their contents, codes of behaviour and the working arrangements between schools and Board staff.

Where the Department of Education & Science has issued guidelines or directives previously in relation to any of these matters or other matters falling within the remit of the Board, these guidelines remain extant until they are replaced and/or updated.

Addressing your concerns

The Board will consult the Education Partners concerning the priorities for the new service over the coming months. In particular, the Board is anxious that matters of concern to schools, teachers and parents are identified and addressed in a timely and proactive manner.

The Board looks forward to working with principals, teachers and the Education Partners in relation to the implementation of the Act and the development of the new national educational welfare service.

Further information

This web site provides the latest information concerning the activities of the Board and the development of the new service. For more information, please contact us.

Eddie Ward
Chief Executive Officer