Bullying and special needs top helpline call concerns

BULLYING, help for special needs children and advice on what to do with a child who refuses to go to school were the main concerns of parents using a new education helpline.

Almost 1,700 people have called the National Educational Welfare Board helpline since it was launched in March this year - or more than 140 callers a week. Seventy-seven percent of those callers were concerned parents, while the rest were from schools.

Statistics from its first quarter of operations reveal that 18% of calls were from parents seeking help for pupils with special needs, 17% were related to concerns about bullying and 16% of calls were from those who have a child who refuses to attend school.

The other main areas of concern were from parents looking for help with problems relating to expulsion or suspension and a significant number of calls looking for clarification on the rules surrounding sickness and absence from school.

Calls came from every county in Ireland and lasted an average of five minutes.

“Usage of the Educational Helpline in its first quarter of operation confirms our view that further support services for parents and pupils are vital,” chief executive officer of the National Education Welfare Board (NEWB) Eddie Ward said.

“It’s still early days but everything so far points to the success of our lo-call education helpline,” he said.

Mr Ward felt that the main role of the educational welfare officers (EWO) manning the helpline was to listen attentively to callers, to explore the reasons behind their concerns or issues, to deal with the issue - particularly if it was one related to school attendance and to direct callers to a more appropriate source of advice if the issue was not one which could be dealt with directly by the helpline service.

He said 74% of callers got the help they needed on the phone while a further 26% were sent additional information, referred to a local EWO or relevant organisation. “Our ability to deal effectively with such a wide range of queries from all over the country vindicates our decision to develop this aspect of our service,” Mr Ward said.

The lo-call education helpline number was sent to the 340,000 homes in Ireland with school-going children as part of an information leaflet explaining parents’ rights and responsibilities under the new Education (Welfare) Act and detailing the role of the NEWB. The primary function of the NEWB is to ensure that each child in the State attends a recognised school or receives an appropriate education.

The lo-call helpline number is 1890 363666 and is staffed from 10am to 4pm, Monday to Friday.