Jim Daly TD calls for dedicated ombudsman for education

The inability of the Children’s Ombudsman to investigate most complaints about schools has prompted a call for a dedicated ombudsman for education.

Fine Gael TD Jim Daly, a former primary school principal, believes the powers of the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman are not wide enough, as it deemed 3,000 of the 4,000 complaints it has received about education to be outside its remit.

Of the remaining 1,000 complaints, he said only a small percentage went on to be investigated.

With complaints about schools and other education organisations making up almost half of all 9,000 cases brought to the attention of the Children’s Ombudsman, Mr Daly, a TD in Cork South West, has asked Education Minister Jan O’Sullivan to consider a new office dedicated to schools and matters of educational concern to parents.

In reply to a Dáil question from Mr Daly last month, Ms O’Sullivan did not respond directly to the suggestion. She said the Children’s Ombudsman is responsible for investigating complaints relating to children, whether in relation to administrative actions of the department, schools, or other education institutions.

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Mr Daly told Ms O’Sullivan in a recent letter that she and her department appear satisfied with a complaints office that only investigates around 5% of the complaints it receives from parents.

“While I appreciate the [Children’s Ombudsman] is tasked with a very serious job and has made many very valuable contributions to protecting and improving our children’s welfare, I have to say that I find its role in ensuring proper administration in our schools is wholly inadequate,” he wrote.

“Parents do not complain to [the ombudsman] on a whim and if 4,000 concerned parents have done so I estimate the number of actual aggrieved parents to be many multiples of this.

“I urge you minister to consider the appointment of an ombudsman for education and put in place an office that will oversee this last bastion of society that remains unchecked and a law [unto] themselves.”

The Children’s Ombudsman advises parents that an issue has to have gone through a school’s complaints procedures before the office can examine any case on the question of whether school policies have been properly followed, or if they are fair.

The issue of how schools deal with complaints by parents and students is to be incorporated into a Parents and Learners Charter which Ms O’Sullivan plans to legislate for soon by amending the 1998 Education Act.

It will be dealt with through the Admission to Schools Bill which she published this month, and is intended to strengthen the position of parents by making for a more consistent culture of involving parents and students in schools. It is hoped the need for parents to use school grievance procedures would be reduced if such a charter is followed properly across the system.

The draft of the bill had proposed replacing a system of appealing to the Department of Education for parents whose child was refused enrolment. While Ms O’Sullivan is still proposing the initial decisions on admissions be a matter for principals and open to appeal to the school board, she has taken note of difficulties both from parents and from schools.

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