Needy students ‘not accessing’ State services

STUDENTS from the most deprived sections in Irish society have an unacceptable lack of access to State psychological services, Department of Education inspectors have warned.

In evaluations of two Dublin youth encounter projects, attended by boys and girls aged from 11 to 16 who suffer the most extreme educational and social disadvantage, difficulties accessing other State services were also highlighted.

St Laurence O’Toole’s special school in North Strand and Henrietta Street School work mostly on students’ basic literacy and numeracy, with some going on to sit a number of subjects in the Junior Certificate.

According to inspection reports of their recent evaluations — published by the Department of Education yesterday — students have many difficulties such as problematic life circumstances, limited attention spans, a history of failure and rejection, very weak literacy and potentially volatile behaviour.

But despite these factors, neither school has access to the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), and instead having to seek such help from private providers such as the Mater child guidance clinic. Similar situations exist in two of the country’s three other youth encounter projects, according to evaluations published in October.

“The fact that the school does not have access to the services of NEPS is unacceptable, given the needs of its students,” wrote the inspector who evaluated St Laurence O’Toole’s.

The report recommended that measures to extend the services of NEPS to the school should be introduced as a matter of urgency and that the school discuss its needs for a more intensive service from the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) with staff of the agency. The school principal expressed concern to the inspector that the board’s local officer could only visit once a week and that the service’s effectiveness is reduced by a perceived lack of sanctions by the NEWB.

The board of Henrietta St School, run by the St Vincent’s Trust for the Daughters of Charity, also expressed concern about the need for the Department of Education to clarify its entitlement to NEPS services and a more complete service from the NEWB and the National Council for Special Education. The uncertain status of some staff also caused concern, with the position of a social worker providing vital supports and links to external agencies for pupils at St Henrietta’s in jeopardy when it was evaluated last March.

The inspectors spoke very highly of the staff of both schools, writing of Laurence O’Toole’s that it was impressive to witness students who had felt marginalised in previous schooling now actively engaged in learning.

“It is a reflection of the genuinely holistic approach evident throughout the school. It is a model one might wish to see replicated in areas of the city and country where educational disadvantage and social exclusion are severe,” the inspector wrote.