01 December 2005
New research indicates that more think it is acceptable to miss school at primary level

A public survey, carried out as part of new, independent research on school attendance by MORI Ireland for the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB), indicates that more people think it is acceptable for children to miss days in primary school than secondary school.

This runs contrary to the views of the NEWB and schools, which see early patterns of non-attendance as habit forming. In other words, a child who misses school regularly in primary is more likely to go on missing school in secondary and is also more likely to drop out of school. Educational Welfare Officers and teachers interviewed as part of more comprehensive MORI research said that there is a critical role to be played in educating parents and guardians about the importance of early prevention of non-attendance.

Another strand of the research focused on why children don't attend school in Ireland. The research, which is still in draft form, was carried out in ten sample schools in Galway, Donegal, Cork, Louth, Wexford, Kildare and Dublin and it is the first attempt to understand the reasons for non attendance in this country. The final report is expected to be ready before the end of the year.

The research indicates that parents, pupils and schools recognise the unique role which educational welfare officers (EWOs) can play in mediating between schools and the home if a child is a chronic non-attender.

"This research indicates that schools, parents and children who have come into contact with educational welfare officers have benefited from the unique role they can play," said Eileen Fahey, Acting Director of Educational Services. "EWOs are not part of the school system. They can fill the gap between the informal world of home life and the community and the formal world of the education system. Many spoke about the flexibility of the officers and the importance of building relationships with them as the key to overcoming chronic school absences."

The initial findings were presented to the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Science today (December 1) by the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). The research debunks the myth that parents of non-attenders are not interested in their education. In fact, the majority of parents interviewed want their children to do well in school and take responsibility for their children's actions. It actually shows that parents of children who are chronic non-attenders experience stress, health costs and absences from work as they try to deal with attendance problems.

In addition, the research shows that teachers and good attenders can suffer. There are significant costs for teachers and for schools because of the time spent investigating and reducing absences and then helping absent students to catch up. Students who attend school regularly can also miss out, as more of class time is devoted to helping those who missed days at school.

The research also indicates, however, that the effectiveness of the Board's work is being hampered because of the relatively low number of officers on the ground.

"While people with an intensive service could see the benefit of the NEWB's service, those with less contact couldn't get an accurate picture of the work. At the same time, EWOs reported that they were being compromised because of their high caseloads," Fahey continued. "In other words, everybody is being short-changed because of the lack of adequate officers on the ground."

At the Oireachtas hearing, the NEWB reaffirmed its budgetary request of ?6.1 million for 2006 and re-emphasised its focus on early intervention in tackling absenteeism, as set out in 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 the non-attendance. There may be alcohol or drug abuse. A child might be sick. There might be financial issues in the home. There might be a death in the family. A child may not want to go to school because he or she is being bullied," said Eddie Ward, CEO.

"What is vital is that the Act, and therefore the work of the NEWB, puts more emphasis on the welfare approach. EWOs work long hours to sort things out so that children can get back to their education. This draft research bears out the benefits of this approach."

For more information contact:

Stuart Kenny
Tel: 087 2619658