Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 13 July 2023
387. Deputy Claire Kerrane asked the Minister for Education the reason a decision has been made by her Department to close a facility (details supplied); when local schools were informed of this decision and how; if consideration has been given to the high-level needs of children in the facility; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35391/23]
View answerAll Primary school aged children arriving through the Irish Refugee Protection Programme (IRPP) will now have access to the full suite of supports and resources available through recognised primary schools. These supports and resources have been enhanced and increased over the last number of years to meet the needs of a growing number of new arrivals. Research tells us that integration into mainstream schools can have a stabilising effect and provide children with a safe environment which promotes wellbeing, particularly for those whose lives and education have been disrupted. Facilitating migrant children to access schools as quickly as possible also enables them to build relationships with other children, to meet and develop friendships with their Irish peers, thus supporting their inclusion into Irish society. Enabling children of school-going age to access a welcoming school environment also ensures a sense of security, safety and belonging.
Supports and resources accessible in mainstream schools to support the needs of migrant children have increased significantly over the last number of years with the rise in numbers of IPAS arrivals and particularity in response to the thousands of children and young people arriving from Ukraine since the outbreak of the war in 2022. Provision of additional supports and resources under the Departments policies and strategies aim to ensure all school aged migrant children have access to a high quality inclusive education within the mainstream setting in order to benefit fully from our school system.
This Departmental policy to integrate children and young people into existing mainstream schools as quickly as possible is informed by a number of core principles which are informed by research[1] and by the recent experiences of other children in the refugee or international protection process in our school system.
The Irish Refugee Protection Programme[2] was established by Government decision on 10 September 2015 as a direct response to a humanitarian crisis, with children in the centres accessing mainstream services as quickly as possible. At the time, to facilitate this access an interim educational provision at primary level was established in the EROCs, managed by the local Educational and Training Boards (ETBs). This included the establishment of temporary primary classes which by their nature are not recognised schools and therefore do not operate under the usual school governance structures nor do they have access to the wider range of supports available in recognised schools. The Department acknowledges the commitment and dedication of the ETBs in their work, providing this interim provision, to support these children and young people on their arrival.
Some enhanced supports introduced in recent years include:
The establishment of the REALTs (Regional Education and Language Teams
The REALTs were established by my Department to streamline the alignment of education focused supports for Ukrainian families arriving in Ireland. Their role has recently been expanded to include children arriving under the IRPP and International Protection applicants. The primary role of the REALT is to assist children in finding school places and to support schools to meet the needs of these children as they emerge.
Language supports
Many schools already have an existing Special Education Teaching allocation which also includes the EAL allocation, and further temporary Language Support is also provided, as necessary, to schools that have high concentrations of pupils that require language (EAL) support.
Special Education Teaching allocation
The Special Education Teaching allocation, as outlined in Circular 0020/2022, (primary schools) and 0021/2022 (post primary schools) provides a single unified allocation for special educational support teaching needs to each school, based on each school’s educational profile and also encompasses the Language Support (EAL) allocation that schools were allocated in previous years.
Wellbeing supports
The Department of Education’s Wellbeing Policy Statement and Framework for Practice (2018-2023) acknowledges that schools provide opportunities to develop friendships and to respectfully encounter diversity and access support structures. The policy promotes the provision of a whole-school approach to supporting wellbeing, an approach that has been found internationally to produce a wide range of educational and social benefits for individual children and young people. The approach proposed is a whole-school and preventative approach with multiple components that include:
• Providing children and young people with opportunities to be part of a school environment and culture that feels both physically and psychologically safe, an environment in which children and young people feel a sense of belonging and connectedness, in which they feel their voice is heard, and they feel supported.
• Schools are encouraged to use a reflective, school self-evaluation approach to identify and prioritise the needs of its own school community in relation to the promotion of wellbeing and mental health, and to respond to meeting those needs.
Officials from my Department have engaged with the ETBs and other relevant stakeholders over an extended period of time in relation to the future for the interim educational provision of primary classes in the EROCs.
Formal notification was issued to the two ETBs that have responsibility for the primary age provision in two EROCs in May of this year. Arrangements have been made for the enrolment of the small number of children who attended these classes in the 2022/2023 school year in local primary schools. An extension of the cooperation hours (as an exceptional measure) has been agreed for the 2023/2024 school year. This means that the teachers will remain in place for the coming year and will be available to support these children and any new arrivals during this next school year.
Officials from my Department will continue to engage with the two ETBs concerned over the coming year and it is intended that the ETBs will report to my Department on any issues arising during the year to ensure appropriate supports are in place for children arriving as part of the Irish Refugee Protection Programme.
[1] OECD 2019 Refugee education: integration models and practices in OECD countries
OECD Education Working Paper No. 203; UNICEF, February 2022; Education, Children on the move and Inclusion in Education
[2] Source: Department of Justice Briefing on opening of Ballaghadereen EROC January 2017
