October 2003
National Educational Welfare Board Needs €25 Million Investment in 2004 To Do Its Job

Government’s 'save now pay later' policy will end up costing society much more in the long run according to educational welfare agency

The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) today advocated that €25 million is prioritised in Budget 2004 for the development of its services as a vital investment in the life chances of some of the country’s most vulnerable children and young people.

In its first pre-budget submission, the new agency stressed that continued failure by the Government to meet the immediate needs of the children and families entitled to the Board’s services would impact heavily on the State and society in the long term. According to Chief Executive Eddie Ward, a 'save now pay later' policy simply wouldn’t work.

The Board which was set up to support regular school attendance and the education of children and young people, outlined that its budget requirements could be financed from funds already in existence. It called for a comprehensive audit and evaluation of funds already allocated to educational disadvantage programmes so as to eliminate the possibility of waste and duplication. Money saved, it stated, should be redirected towards improving school attendance specifically. Secondly, it proposed that money currently directed towards short term and once-off Government programmes aimed at disadvantage should be channelled directly into the specific employment of Educational Welfare Officers.

"Targeting funding specifically and consistently towards school attendance is the most effective way of tackling educational disadvantage and poverty," said Eddie Ward. "Irregular school attendance is closely linked with early school leaving, which is itself the most salient manifestation of disadvantage and poverty."

"Report after report, both here and abroad, has shown that investment in educational help for children at most risk can save millions in the long run. Unemployment will be reduced, and money will be saved on areas such as crime, housing and health, not to mention the fact that so many more children can benefit from having a full education – something we cannot put a price tag on."

With €25 million in 2004, the Board will recruit 148 Educational Welfare Officers to bring the total service delivery staff strength to 221. With this complement the NEWB will be able to deliver its service to almost 600,000 children, or 84% of those entitled to the service.

Set up under the Educational Welfare Act, the NEWB is obliged to assign an Educational Welfare Officer, working as part of a regional support team, to all 4,000 schools and 700,000 school aged children in the country. To meet this, the aim is to have 330 Educational Welfare Officers in place by the end of 2005. However, in 2003, only 73 of the Educational Welfare Officer jobs could be filled because of Government financial constraints.

"The Board is committed to building a national service to meet its obligations under the Act," said Eddie Ward. "The Board is also conscious of the difficult financial position facing the Government. However, it is precisely in this situation that protection and support should be afforded to the children who are most vulnerable in our society. The Board feels that there can be no compromise."

The Real Cost of Poor School Attendance

• Many children requiring the NEWB’s service are already the most vulnerable – children with disabilities and special education needs, children who are homeless, children whose families have little or no tradition in education, for example.
• Poor attendance at school is an early indicator of potential early school leaving. Each year 15% of young people leave school without the Leaving Certificate and 3% with no qualification at all – one in five almost.
• Up to 1000 pupils do not transfer annually from primary to post-primary education leaving them open to variety of negative influences.
• Savings of at least €14 million a year on unemployment costs, crime etc., could be made if young people could be prevented from dropping out of school before their Junior Cert. (ESRI, 2003)
• Travellers still need support to catch up with the attendance levels of the rest of the population. Other minority groups present new challenges.
• One in 10 children leave primary school with significant literacy problems.
• Three out of four of our prisoners had poor attendance at school and about 40% of them left school at 14 or younger. (Morgan, Kett, 2003).
• 5.5% of all households (71,000) and 6% of children (170,000) live in poverty. (CPA, 2003)

For more information contact: Edel Hackett, Tel: 087-2935207