‘More resources needed to deal with behaviour problems at schools’

SCHOOLS need more resources to prevent behaviour problems getting to the stage where pupils have to be suspended or expelled, a parents’ leader has claimed.

The comments were made by Jim Moore, president of the Parents’ Association for Vocational Schools and Community Colleges (PAVSCC), whose annual conference takes place this weekend.

Changes to the 1998 Education Act are likely to come into effect next autumn, under a bill that is before the Oireachtas. One of the proposed amendments would mean committees hearing an appeal by a student suspended or expelled from school would be allowed for the first time to consider the serious nature of their behaviour and the health and safety of teachers and other students, as well as the educational rights of the student bringing the appeal.