Written Answers. - Parliamentary Debates - Houses of the Oireachtas

Questions— 14 February 2012. Written Answers
Education Welfare Service
91. Deputy Thomas P. Broughan asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she
will report on the operation of the National Education Welfare Board; the way the NEWB
monitors and invigilates school attendance across the country; the number of staff in the NEWB
that are assigned to this responsibility; if she will indicate the average absentee rate at primary
and post-primary schools on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis and on recent trends in
those rates; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [7853/12]
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs (Deputy Frances Fitzgerald): The complex issue of
school attendance is systematically addressed through the provisions of the Education
(Welfare) Act, 2000. This act established the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) in
2002 — mandating it with supervising and implementing the provisions of the Act to effectively
ensure that ‘each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum
education’ (Section 10). The legislation establishes a framework for promoting regular school
attendance, participation and retention as well as tackling the manifold problems of absenteeism
and early school leaving. The Act also charges the NEWB with responsibility for children
who are being educated outside of recognised schools, for example at home, as well as 16-17
year olds who leave school to take up employment.
Since mid-2009 the Board has an expanded remit which includes responsibility for the Home
School Community Liaison scheme and the School Completion Programme in addition to the
Educational Welfare Service. Under the extended remit, the Board is obliged to devise a single
strategic approach to attendance, participation and retention. The Board is currently engaged
in developing an integrated service model which would respond to the complexity of issues
that impact on attendance, participation and retention. That model will be implemented in the
academic year 2012-2013. This implementation will include appropriate management information
systems to capture data for the measuring and monitoring of outcomes.
In relation to monitoring school attendance, the NEWB has 90 sanctioned Educational Welfare
Service posts, 74 of which are currently filled (59 Educational Welfare Officers, 12 Senior
Educational Welfare Officers and 3 Regional Managers). The Board also informs me that 2
Educational Welfare Officers are due to retire at the end of the month.
Since the commencement of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, schools are obliged to submit
an Annual Attendance Report (“AAR”) to the NEWB on the levels of school attendance
each year. An overall report derived from this data is produced by the Education Research
Centre (ERC).
I am advised by the Board that the data is not collected in such a way as to allow all the
breakdowns requested by the Deputy; I can, however provide the annual data from recent
years as a significant indicator of non-attendance rates. In summary out of a primary student
population of 424,138 students in 05/06 rising to 487,504 in 09/10 the number of days lost overall
at primary level was 6.3% in 05/06, 6.2% in 06/07, 6.5% in 07/08, 6.3% in 08/09 and 6.2%
in 09/10.
Out of a post-primary student population of 271,349 students in 05/06 rising to 297,777 in
09/10 the number of days lost overall at post-primary primary level was 7.8% in 05/06, 7.9% in
06/07, 8.1% in 07/08, 8.3% in 08/09 and 7.9% in 09/10.
Analysis of this data identifies key findings such as:
— There has been the highest annual attendance returns ever to the NEWB from
schools in 2009/10: 97% from Primary and 96% from Post Primary;
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