School Attendance in Ireland and the alternatives for early school leavers and children refusing to attend school.
(thanks to Parentline volunteer Eilish Cattanach for compilation the information for this article)
In Ireland, the law states that children must attend education between the age of 6 and 16, or until students have completed 3 years of second-level education, whichever is the later. Tusla (the child and family agency) has a responsibility to ensure that children attend school regularly, or otherwise receives an appropriate minimum education. Tusla's emphasis is on helping schools, families and children, rather than imposing penalties for non-attendance at school. Tusla employs educational welfare officers at local level throughout the country to provide support and advice to parents and schools and to follow up on absences from school.
Schools must keep a register of the students attending the school. They must also maintain attendance records for all students and inform the Child and Family Agency's educational welfare services if a child is absent for more than 20 days in a school year.
Parents must inform the school if their children will be absent from school on a school day and the reason for the absence, such as illness. Parents and guardians have a legal obligation to ensure that their child attends a school or else receives an education. If Tusla considers that a parent is failing in his or her obligation, it must send the parent a School Attendance Notice. The warning outlines that legal action will follow if the child does not attend school regularly. Tusla must make reasonable efforts to consult with the parents and the child, before sending the warning. If the parent fails to comply with a warning, they may be prosecuted. It will be a defense for the parents to show that they have made all reasonable efforts to send the child to school.
If you have difficulty ensuring your child attends school, you should contact the school or an educational welfare officer for advice or assistance. It may also be worth considering alternatives to mainstream education as detailed below. <
Youthreach
Youthreach is an education, training, and work programmes for early school leavers aged 15-20 years of age. It operates on a full-time basis and takes in new students all year round. There are 110 Youthreach centres around the country. Youthreach allows students to gain an academic certification e.g. Junior certificate, Leaving Certificate or QQI certifications (www.qqi.ie).
Courses are free of charge and a training allowance is paid. Further details available at www.youthreach.ie
Home Schooling
Parents have the right to education their child in the home. Further details can be found at https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/education/the-irish-education-system/home-education/
IScoil(iscoil,ie)
IScoil is an online learning community funded by the Department of education and the Presentation sisters. It works with students aged between 13 and 16 who have been out of school for 6 months or more due to being diagnosed with either school phobia, anxiety or depression. It provides education up to QQI level 3 for 150 students across Ireland. Referrals are made by Educational Welfare Officers.
Further Education and Training
Further Education and Training or FET, offers a wide variety of life-long education options to anyone over 16. FET includes apprenticeships, traineeships, Post Leaving Cert (PLC) courses, community and adult education as well as core literacy and numeracy services. Community Training Centres provide education and training courses for early school leavers, aged 16–21 years. All learners participating in Community Training Programmes are offered the opportunity to complete a QQI Major Award at level 3, 4 or 5. See www.qqi.ie for further details on QQI qualifications.
Courses are listed at www.fetchcourses.ie.