Irish Teacher: Irish parents enjoy an incredible amount of freedom when it comes to child-rearing

Jennifer Horgan: Tusla notices are a safety net - and a flimsy one at that

Should a parent be allowed to take their child on holidays during term time? Does a school have any right to say no?

Maybe? Maybe a family can’t afford the hiked-up summer prices? Few among us don’t feel the draw of that particular argument.

And what is education anyway? Surely, it’s not confined to the classroom? Maybe a trip to another country with loved ones offers an educational experience beyond a school’s reach? Life is the greatest educator and travel expands the mind and the senses; it offers the real thing, not a watered-down version in a book or on a screen.

Maybe we need to pause right here… Before we all decide that there’s no harm in yanking children out of school when it suits parents.

We easily forget that rules against parents removing children from school are put in place to protect all children, the every child. In Ireland, certainly compared to neighbouring countries, we do far more to protect the rights of parents and far less to protect the rights of children.

Yes, one family might be taking their child to a remote village in China to learn Chinese for a month, but another might be leaving their child alone, in a home ravaged by addiction. Or more commonly, they might be leaving them on a screen playing computer games all day while they work double shifts to make the rent. Or they might be struggling to support a child without our help.

NOT HALF ENOUGH

It is the State’s job to ensure that every child’s right to an education is protected. Schools are legally required to report high rates of absences. In all honesty, I’m not sure we do nearly half enough.

It is incredibly rare that Tusla follows up on these. As Jess Casey reported in January, 3,500 notices were issued over the last seven years. Break that down: That’s 500 notices a year. There are more children than that in a secondary comprehensive school. And out of that, over seven years, only 830 court summonses were issued.

According to TD Denis Naughton, speaking in the Oireachtas in 2020, one primary school child in eight misses more than 20 days of schools a year. What’s going on? The truth is that children are falling through the cracks all the time in Ireland. 

They stop coming to school for various reasons, often to the heartbreak of decent, struggling parents. But they also stop coming because they are being neglected and denied their fundamental rights.

Home is sadly not always where the heart is. According to the Rape Crisis Network of Ireland, despite Ireland voting in favour of children’s rights over a decade ago, children are still not “front and centre” of family law cases. In 44% of child sexual violence cases processed by the State, the perpetrator is a family member. We need the State to consider the level of autonomy parents are given in Ireland for the sakes of those children.

FLIMSY SAFETY NETS

Irish parents enjoy an incredible amount of freedom when it comes to child-rearing. We have a proprietorial attitude towards our children. We focus on our rights as parents and our constitution backs us up. A parent in Ireland can home-school with little to no supervision. 

In mainstream, our children are given 20 days of unauthorised absences before we receive a notice from Tusla, and then what? In reality, very little happens. Parents complain about this notice as if it is an affront, but these notices are a safety net. And a bloody flimsy one at that.

Certainly, this process should be explained to parents to avoid unnecessary upset. The reason why they can’t take an impromptu trip to China for a month of the year should be outlined also. It is to protect vulnerable children.

Irish parents might be surprised to know that if they lived in the UK they would only have 10 days to play with, not 20. They would be far more likely to face fines of up to £2,500. 

In Austria, parents can be fined for only three consecutive days of unauthorised absence or they can end up in prison for up to two weeks. 

German police are known to actively check airports for parents absconding with their school-going children. 

In Norway, interestingly, a head teacher can grant leave on a case-by-case basis. Now this might be something we could consider, but I’m loathe to add any more to a principal’s to-do list in Ireland.

In Portugal, the state restricts what parents can call their babies. All parents must choose from a list of names.

Can you imagine that in Ireland? We’d give up unnecessary driving first.