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[size=7]Number of children missing 40 days' school a year could fill 1,000 classrooms says Green Party[/size]
[size=7]-as Gogarty seeks additional €20m investment in Education Welfare Board [/size]
· €28 million total funding requested
· NEWB will be able to employ 363 staff – at present only 79 officers on the ground
· Funding will reduce Ratio of Education Welfare officers to students from 1 for every 12,000 to 1 for every 3000; comparable with NI and UKlevels
[size=7]The Green Party has called on the Minister for Education and Science, Mary Hanafin to prioritize funding for the National Education Welfare Board by allocating an additional €20 million in this year's budget.
Green Party Education Spokesperson Paul GogartyTD said that Welfare Officers played an "essential role" in identifying and helping to tackle educational disadvantage and related problems, but they needed to be properly resourced to tackle education attendance issues strategically.
Announcing Step 2 of the Green Party's '50 Steps to a Better Education System,' which each week will detail important aspects of the Green Party's education policy, Deputy Gogarty said that at least €28 million of funding would be required to enable the Board to do its job effectively. He pledged to work towards this figure if his party was in Government after the next election.
"Under the Education Welfare Act, the National Education Welfare Board is the statutory body charged with ensuring that every child attends school regularly, participates in training, or receives an education in the home or through other means. However, despite consistent calls by the Board for additional funding, the Minister has refused to sanction the required number of Education Welfare officers. Yet it is crystal-clear that additional staff are needed on the ground as a matter of urgency," he stated.
School attendance data from the NEWB shows that Ireland has a high level of absenteeism. Primary school pupils miss 11 days on average out of a school year of 183 days and secondary school pupils miss 15 days out of 167. Approximately 84,000 children under the age of 16 miss more than 20 days per year. This is one in 10 primary school pupils and one in five secondary school students.
The problem is more acute in areas of disadvantage where almost one in four students in both primary and secondary schools miss more than 20 days.
Deputy Gogarty continued, "Incredibly, up to 28,000 children miss more than 40 days, effectively denying them an education. You could easily fill 1,000 classrooms with these children alone. This costs our children dearly and impacts negatively on society at large. The State and the taxpayer will end up footing the bill for these children's low achievement levels, when targeted intervention at an early stage could make a real difference.
"Four years ago the independent Rochfort Report on the staffing needs of the NEWB suggested that 360 staff would be required for the Board to act effectively. It also highlighted the huge difference in ratio of EWOs to students when compared with NI and the UK.
"Our funding proposals call for a total investment of €28 million per annum in the EWF. The present funding is a paltry €8 million. With this investment, the NEWB could bring its staff numbers up to the 363 required, with 332 of these being directly involved in service delivery on the ground. At present there are only 73 Education Welfare officers deployed, so there is huge room for improvement.
"Our targeted investment would bring the current Education Welfare Officer/student ratio down from 1:12,000 to a more manageable 1:3000, which would put us in line with the average ratios in Britainand Northern Ireland. It would facilitate real action in identifying the causes of school absenteeism and related issues of educational investment.
"I am calling on the Minister to fund the NEWB as a matter of priority. It will cost us if we do not invest in tackling this urgent and growing problem, concluded Deputy Gogarty.
Website: www.50steps.com[/size]
[size=7]Step 2 of 50 Steps to a Better Education System: [/size]
In Government, the Green Party will seek to provide the National Education Welfare Board with €28 million annual funding to enable it to recruit its full complement as recommended in the Rochfort report and fully carry out its statutory obligations under the Education Welfare Act.
According to the NEWB this funding would enable it to enable it to increase its staff number to 363; 332 of which would be directly involved in service delivery. The current EWO student ratio of 1:12,000 would be reduced to 1:3000, similar to NI and UK levels.
