May 2005
National Educational Welfare Board Determined to Make Every Day Count

The National Educational Welfare Board

EWOs take on over 17,000 cases in first year of full national service. Helpline receives over 7,000 calls.

The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) today (May 23rd) launched its first Strategic Plan (2005 to 2007) saying that it was keen to make everyone aware that every day counts in a child’s education. Chairperson Dr. Ann Louise Gilligan said that the elimination of education disadvantage would remain an aspiration as long as there are gaps in vital services for children.

She pointed to statistics for the first full year of the service (2004) which showed that Educational Welfare Officers opened over 17,000 new cases and answered over 7,000 calls on its helpline. Data also shows that over 80,000 children missed over 20 days of school last year. A nationwide educational welfare service was critical to addressing this, she said. While progressing towards a full service would continue to be a challenge for the Board, its immediate strategy was to make the optimum use of resources made available, prioritizing early intervention as well as tracking absenteeism in areas of most need.

“The Board has a statutory obligation to deliver fully on the legislation enacted to promote school attendance in this country,” she said. “Nobody else in the lives of children has been given this responsibility. The Board needs support from society generally and from the Government to discharge this responsibility. The elimination of educational disadvantage will remain an aspiration as long as there are gaps in vital services for children. A fully resourced national educational welfare service would go a long way towards meeting the needs of these children and families.”

“Children’s lives are not dispensable,” she continued. “They only have one short chance at childhood and it is up to services like ours to help ensure that they are given the best opportunities during that time.”

“We will continue to provide Government with a strong data-based case for the resource investment in the Board’s service, and fast-tracking the manpower requirements of the Board in order to enable it to fulfill its statutory requirements,” she said.

CEO Eddie Ward said that the Board also wanted to confront was he called a “culture of casual non-attendance” including those days that parents sometimes think don’t count – the mid-season holidays, the days taken for Christmas shopping or looking for the confirmation clothes, the days off after the baby’s Christening, for example.

“A day missed is a day that has to be made up by a child at some stage,” he said. “For some children this might pose no problem. For some, however, it can put undue pressure on them to catch up. It is better that children miss days only if they are sick or if there is a serious family issue.”

He outlined that the Board would be developing a national campaign to promote a positive understanding of the importance of school attendance. This would run in tandem with a public information strategy.

In addition, the Board would develop guidelines for school attendance strategies and codes of behaviour as well as providing supports and advice for parents. In its work with other agencies, it would agree protocols for effective partnerships and joint working so that there was no unnecessary overlapping of services. In advising the Government, it would continue to compile annual national statistics as well as implementing the country’s first comprehensive research programme on children’s educational participation.

Fr. Peter McVerry was special guest at the launch of the Strategic Plan, entitled Every Day Counts. Children from Gaelscoil Bharra in Cabra also performed their award winning drama, Robin Hood, which they wrote themselves with the help of their drama teacher.

NEWB Facts
Cases on file at the start of 2004 = 700
Cases opened through 2004 = 17,878
Cases closed by end of the year 8,616
Home visits made 10,186
School visits 7,312
Letters to parents 16,264
Meetings with other agencies 2,836
Calls to the helpline 7,263
Calls from parents 70%
Calls from schools 30%
Queries answered immediately 84%
Queries referred to EWOs on the ground 16%
Types of calls Bullying (19%) Special needs (15%) Won’t go to school (15%) Suspension (12%) and Home Education (11%).

Click here to download a copy of the Strategic Plan 2005 - 2007