November 2008
Information Update

The National Educational Welfare Board

The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established in 2002 and has a statutory function to ensure that every child either attends a school or otherwise receives an education. In particular, the Board has a key role in following up on children who are not attending school regularly, and where there is a concern about the child's educational welfare.

The Board also has responsibility for children who are being educated outside of schools (e.g. at home) and 16-17 year olds who leave school to take up employment.

The Board is appointed by the Minister for Education & Science and its members are drawn from teachers, school management, parents, agencies and services who work with young people and a number of relevant Government Departments.

Our Ethos

The Board was set up under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000. The Act is a progressive piece of legislation which takes an enlightened approach to the promotion of school attendance. The ethos of the Board follows the Act. Instead of admonishing children and parents for non-attendance the NEWB works hard to get to the root of problems behind non-attendance. For example, a child might be sick; there might be financial issues in the home; there might be a death in the family or a child may not want to go to school because he or she is being bullied. Issues such as these need to be addressed if a child's individual attendance issues are to be solved in the long-term.

The work of educational welfare officers builds on the work of the school and the various support services than operate at both school and community levels. Some schools are better resourced than others through a range of non statutory schemes such as Home/School/Community/Programme and School Completion Programme that are available in the most disadvantaged areas. Educational welfare officers work closely with these services at a local level.

Mission

The mission of the NEWB is to maximise the level of educational participation of children and young people by ensuring that each child is attending school or otherwise participating in an appropriate education.

Values

The following values inform the NEWB - they are integral to our Strategic Plan and are fundamental guiding principles for our work. They imbue the way the NEWB goes about its work as an organisation, with its partners in education and in carrying out its remit:

• Putting the best interests of children and young people first
• Advancing educational equality for all children
• Supporting and enabling our staff
• Operating to high standards of corporate governance
• Working inclusively and collaboratively.

Strategic Focus

NEWB has a clear strategic focus to guide its development. The Board's first Strategic Plan 2005-2007 "every day counts" aimed to build a strong organisation that would deliver on its duty to children, schools and families. The Strategic Goals adopted by the Board were as follows:

• To implement a prevention strategy that will build a culture of attendance and participation among all children and families
• To make a strong evidence-based case to Government to fast-track the manpower requirements of the Board, build its capacity and enable it to deliver high quality educational welfare services
• To build strong partnerships and collaborative working practices with state and community organisations, and increase the synergy with other educational investments, particularly in disadvantaged areas
• To ensure that resources and interventions maximise outcomes for children by developing evidence-based policy and practice
• To be a learning organisation that will support and develop its staff

The NEWB is currently reviewing its strategy.

Service

A central priority for the Board has been the establishment and building of the National Educational Welfare Service. The NEWB's network of Educational Welfare Officers (EWOs) is the key means by which the Board delivers on its statutory remit to ensure that each child attends and benefits from education.

The Board has currently 109 sanctioned posts of which 95 are involved in service delivery. EWOs work throughout the country and their key task is to work in communities throughout the country acting as advocates or supports to parents, guardians and children experiencing difficulty with school attendance or educational welfare.

In the initial stage of development, priority was given to the most disadvantaged areas (RAPID 1) with significant school going populations. EWOs provide an intensive service in these areas. Outside of these areas, a lesser service is provided and priority is given to children who are out of school or who have significant non attendance.

In following up on individual children, a check is made on the work done by schools and their staff. EWOs will usually contact the principal or other designated person about each child before making contact with the home. Home visits are an essential part of an EWOs work and the first knock on the door by an Educational Welfare Officer, very often opens up a pathway of solutions for a child and family in need. Once any underlying problems are identified the EWO can then seek to address the family's unique set of circumstances, if necessary in conjunction with school staff and other local support services.

If a child is out of school, there is a legal imperative on the Board to make other arrangements for the child's education in consultation with the parents and the Department.

Developing Interagency and Collaborative Working Practices

The reasons for non-attendance at school are complex. Some factors affecting attendance are embedded in the social and economic circumstances of a family or an entire community; some may arise out of children's experience of learning and education; community culture, family culture and school culture all play a part in shaping patterns of attendance and non-attendance.

In recognition of the cross-cutting nature of the factors impacting on school attendance, under Section 12 of the Education (Welfare) Act the NEWB is charged with ensuring that there is consistency and strong co-ordination with the work and policy development of a wide range of Government Departments and State agencies. The Board also recognises the potential for achieving its mission through building partnerships with agencies that have similar objectives.

Developing inter-agency working and structures for collaboration with these agencies and organisations is a key strategic goal for the Board.

Making an impact

NEWB operates nationally through 5 regional teams each of which is headed by a regional manager.

The following gives an indication of the work undertaken by the Board over the past four years:

Cases resolved: Approximately 10,000 cases involving students with reported school attendance difficulties are dealt with per annum by the NEWB.

Promotion of attendance: The Board has a responsibility to promote regular attendance at school. The Board has adopted a multi faceted approach to meet this obligation including raising awareness of the importance of school attendance among the community, providing information to parents, families and schools, commissioning research and disseminating findings, organising local and national campaigns in cooperation with schools and statutory and non statutory agencies, contributing to policy formulation on education and related matters.

Communication with families: NEWB has written to every family with children of school going age advising them of their rights and responsibilities in relation to education and school attendance and where they can get help. A parents' leaflet is now available in 18 different languages on our website www.newb.ie. Special promotional campaigns, for example, the sponsorship of the Cumann na mBunscol competition, provide new avenues into the lives of children, families and their communities.

National Education Helpline: The NEWB has set-up the country's first national education information helpline* (1890 36 36 66), which is manned by trained Educational Welfare Officers and provides practical help to parents and schools on educational issues. Over 5,000 calls are dealt with annually by this service.

Guidance for schools: All schools have received guidance on the legislation and the reporting of student absences and expulsions. A website, www.schoolreturn.ie, has been established which enables schools to manage and report absences in a safe and efficient way.

Legal Sanctions: Every child is entitled to receive an education and it is parents' and guardians' responsibility to ensure that their child attends a school or otherwise receives that education. The NEWB has powers to compel parents or guardians who are failing in their duty to educate their children or to send their children to school.

A School Attendance Notice (SAN) is the first step in enforcing the law. When a SAN is issued, the EWO then begins a formal monitoring process of the child's situation, and the parent or guardian is given extensive opportunity to address the underlying issues with the EWO and the school. In exceptional cases, where there is no progress being made and the child remains out of school, the Board will consider taking a prosecution.

Where legal proceedings are served on a family, the cases are heard in the local District Court. The first cases for non-attendance at school under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 were heard in 2006. Under the law, imposing penalties (e.g. fines, imprisonment) is a matter for the court and the EWO is not involved.

Research on school attendance: a research programme is underway that will support the Board in its planning and service development. Work undertaken includes:

National survey of school attendance levels: For the last three consecutive school years, the NEWB has produced a comprehensive report on the levels of non-attendance at Irish schools based on the attendance data submitted by schools to the NEWB at the end of each school year. The studies highlight national levels of absenteeism and assist in planning. Over time, the findings provide an indicator of the impact of measures to counter educational disadvantage.

Guth an Phobail - analysis of public attitudes towards school attendance: Published in 2006, the MORI Ireland Guth an Phobail survey involved 1,000 adults aged 18 and over. The survey reveals public attitudes towards, and perceptions of, school attendance and will be used by the NEWB to design initiatives to promote school attendance.

ESRI project on school attendance: The study aims at providing a comprehensive overview of literature and existing data in the broad area of attendance and improving the understanding of issues around attendance. The study highlights a number of priorities for policy and research and will guide NEWB's strategy to deal with school attendance. Published in 2007, it is a foundational piece to the development of guidelines for schools on attendance strategies.

MORI small-scale qualitative project on school attendance: This research involved a pilot study in 10 schools (5 primary schools and 5 post-primary schools) to gather the views of teachers, parents, students and educational welfare officers about the reasons for absenteeism, and the types of interventions which might help parents to ensure that their children attend school. The study highlights a number of priorities for policy and research and will guide NEWB's strategy to deal with school attendance. The findings will also influence service practice and the guidelines to be developed for schools on attendance strategies.

Research Conference: The National Educational Welfare Board's first research conference took place on Tuesday, February 26th 2008 in Dublin. The Conference brought together educators, researchers, policy makers and representatives of the NEWB to explore issues around school attendance and participation.

The approach concentrated on what schools can do and what support they need to develop workable attendance policies and strategies based on international and Irish best practice.

It is envisaged that the 2008 Conference will be the first in a series aimed at examining, in depth, all aspects of school attendance and participation.

Education Outside of Recognised Schools: Under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, every child receiving education in a place other than a recognised school must be registered with the NEWB.

Private or independent junior schools are schools not 'recognised' by the Minister of Education and Science under the Education Act 1998, and accordingly, every child attending these schools must be registered. To date, 4554 children have been registered across 29 private or independent junior schools.

As part of this remit, the Board must also ensure the registration of children who receive their education through home settings. At present , over 421 home child are registered as being home educated.

Code of Behaviour Guidelines

The National Educational Welfare Board has recently issued guidelines to all schools entitled "Developing a code of behaviour: Guidelines for Schools". The Guidelines are part of the Board's overall strategy to support school attendance and participation and are issued under section 23 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000. a copy of the Guidelines issued for all teachers. Under the law, each school must have a code that is available to students and parents.

The Guidelines were developed over a two year period and involved extensive consultation and research.

The school code of behaviour is the set of programmes, practices and procedures that together form the school's plan for helping students in the school to behave well and learn well. The code of behaviour helps the school community to promote the school ethos, relationships, policies, procedures and practices that encourage good behaviour and prevent unacceptable behaviour. The code of behaviour helps teachers, other members of staff, students and parents to work together for a happy, effective and safe school.

The NEWB Guidelines recognise the importance of the leadership of Boards of Management and Principals and place a welcome emphasis on the value of engaging everyone in the school community, including teachers, parents and pupils in the task of shaping the school environment and making it a happy place for teaching and learning. The development and review of a code of behaviour provides a great opportunity for school and parents to work together in a joint enterprise, the outcome of which will impact in a very real way on the lives of the young people about whom we are all concerned.

A good code will address the following matters:

• the standards of behaviour expected in the school
• the plan for promoting good behaviour
• the ways in which the school responds to unacceptable behaviour
• the plan for implementing the code of behaviour
• school procedures for the use of suspension and expulsion.

The NEWB Guidelines will be an important support for schools as they work with students and their families to ensure that the code of behaviour can maintain the best possible educational environment in the school.

The first step in applying the Guidelines is for schools to familiarise themselves with their content. Each school will then develop an action plan for the review or preparation of their code of behaviour together with appropriate timeframes for doing the work set out in the plan. The Board recommends that this work be completed within a two year period i.e. before September 2010 for existing schools. In other cases, the Board of Management should ensure that a code of behaviour based on the Guidelines is in place as soon as possible following the establishment of the school.

Section 29 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 - Register of Young People in Employment; Under section 29, the Board is required to establish a register of young people who leave school to take up employment outside of recognised apprenticeships and training.Planning for the implementation of section 29 has been underway for some time. An overview of the size of the population of young people in employment, their locations and job experience and needs are required as a first step. Possibilities for commissioning this overview are being explored with FAS and other relevant players including Government Departments in the first instance.

Section 14 (19) of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000: A proposal has been submitted to the Department of Education and Science regarding the prescription of programmes of education delivered outside of recognised schools, for example in centres of education and Youthreach Centres, under S 14(19) of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000. Under section 14 of the Act, there is a requirement to ensure that every child is receiving a "certain minimum education". The section provides for an assessment process which is supported by guidelines issued by the Minister. The Board's proposal essentially means that education provision which has been either evaluated by the Department's Inspectorate or validated through the FETAC framework would be prescribed and would not therefore be subject to the assessment under the Act.

Working in Partnership: As provided for in the Framework for Social Partnership, the NEWB is strongly committed to developing protocols that will promote innovative and collaborative ways of working that promote attendance and tackle attendance issues, including the development of close working relationships with other professional and agencies, to ensure an integrated approach to children's educational welfare.

By ensuring that children actually attend school regularly, and by targeting resources on DEIS schools, the NEWB can enable children and young people to benefit from the range of other State supports (provided as part of the DEIS initiative) that promote their educational well-being and achievement.

Work has began on developing protocols with support services, such as the National Psychological Service (NEPS), the National Council for Special Needs (NCSE), the Health Services Executive (HSE), FÁS, Visiting Teachers for Travellers (VTTs), Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP).

Protocol with Schools: A collaborative project, involving principals and teachers, on developing a protocol with schools has been progressing. The protocol will clarify responsibilities around attendance and outline the best way that EWOs can support schools in meeting children's needs. This work takes time to develop as there are so many cross-cutting issues and potential situations that the various partners need to consider and find consensus on, in the context of the work pressure of the school community and of the EWO's caseload.

Developing School Attendance strategies: work has commenced on guidelines for schools on developing attendance strategies and the prevention of student absenteeism.

Section 29 Appeals: The law places responsibility on the EWO to take appeals in certain circumstances and to make submissions in other cases. The EWO must carry out these functions with independence and sensitivity having regard to their statutory responsibility towards the child and the position of the individual school.

School Implementation Group: The School Implementation Group - which includes parents, principals and teachers, provides advice to the NEWB both on general priorities and on any materials and guidelines to be specifically distributed to schools. The group's role is to help ensure that those materials are usable, practical and appropriate to already busy school schedules.

Absenteeism: The Facts

Since the inception of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, schools are obliged by law to submit a report to NEWB on levels of school attendance. 2004/2005 is the second year for which this data has been collected and validated. Key findings of the "Analysis of School Attendance Data at Primary and Post-Primary Level 2004/2005 include:

• 10% of all primary school students (approximately 47,000 students) miss more than 20 days from school each year or 11% of the school year
• 19 % of all post-primary school students (approximately 37,000 students under 16) miss more than 20 days from school each year or 12% of the school year
• Every primary school student misses on average 10 days in the school year; in the most disadvantaged urban areas, the average absence is 17 days per student
• Every post-primary student on average misses 14 days in the school year; in the most disadvantaged areas, the average absence is 21 days for each student
• While attendance is lower in areas of disadvantage, it is a national issue affecting all communities.

NEWB Board

The following is the current membership of the Board:

• Mr Cathal Flynn (Chairperson)
• Mr Eddie Ward, Chief Executive Officer
• Ms Fionnuala Anderson, FÁS
• Mr Brendan Callaghan, Department of Justice Equality and Law reform
• Ms Sonja Croke, EWO, NEWB
• Mr Declan Dunne, Ballymun Partnership
• Ms Catherine Hazlett, Department of Social and Family Affairs
• Ms Aine Lynch, National Parents Council (Primary)
• Ms Marie-Claire McAleer, National Youth Council of Ireland
• Mr Pat Mc Sitric, Department of Education and Science
• Mr Seamus Moore, Health Service Executive (HSE)
• Sr Eileen Randles, School Management Organisations
• Mr Billy Sheehan, Irish National Teachers' Organisation (INTO)

NEWB Management Team

Outlined below are the NEWB's management team:

• Mr Eddie Ward, Chief Executive Officer
• Ms Laura Slevin, Director of Corporate Services
• Ms Nuala Doherty, Director of Educational Welfare Services

Corporate Services Managers:

• Ms Mairead Nalty, Human Resources and Training Manager
• Ms Caroline O'Flaherty, IT Manager
• Mr Seamus McSorely, Facilities/Services Manager
• Ms Margaret Jordan, Finance Manager
• Ms Elaine O'Mahoney, Communications Manager

Educational Welfare Services Managers:

• Mr Colin Fallon, Regional Manager, Dublin City
• Mr Michael Doyle, Regional Manager, Leinster North
• Ms Jean Rafter, Regional Manager, Leinster South
• Mr Dan O'Shea, Regional Manager, Munster
• Ms Bridget McGreal, Acting Regional Manager, West/North West

Contact Us

If you need to contact educational welfare staff, our contact details are as follows

Educational Helpline*
1890 36 36 666

* Note that the rates charged for the use of 1890 (LoCall) numbers may vary among different service providers

Head Office
16 - 22 Green Street, Dublin 7
Tel: 01 873 8700
Fax: 01 873 8799
Email: info@newb.ie

Dublin City
Regional Manager, Colin Fallon
16 - 22 Green Street, Dublin 7
Tel: 01 873 8600
Fax: 01 873 8699
Email: info@newb.ie

Leinster North
Regional Manager, Michael Doyle
16 - 22 Green Street, Dublin 7
Tel: 01 873 8600
Fax: 01 873 8699
Email: info@newb.ie

Leinster South
Regional Manager, Jean Rafter
NEWB Tallaght, South County Council Offices County Hall, Block 2, Tallaght, Dublin 24
Tel: 01 463 5516
Fax: 01 462 0212
Email: info@newb.ie

Munster
Regional Manager, Dan O'Shea
Block C, Heritage Business Park, Blackrock, Cork
Tel: 021 453 6314
Fax: 021 453 6368
Email: info@newb.ie

West/North West
Acting Regional Manager, Sarah O'Connor
Unit 19, Sandyfort Business Centre, Grealishtown, Bohermore, Galway
Tel: 091 385302
Fax: 091 760915
Email: info@newb.ie

* Note that the rates charged for the use of 1890 (LoCall) numbers may vary among different service providers