Reduced school timetable guidelines postponed

The introduction of guidelines around reduced school timetables, the lack of which was previously flagged as a “real and serious concern” by the Ombudsman for Children, has been postponed due to Covid-19.

Guidelines intending to stop the inappropriate use of reduced timetables, which sees the number of hours a child may attend school reduced, were expected to be issued to schools earlier this year.

While a reduced timetable can be beneficial for some students, when used inappropriately, they deny Travellers, disadvantaged students, and children with disabilities their right to education, an Oireachtas education committee previously heard.

Fears were also expressed that reduced timetables are being used inappropriately as a type of unmonitored “informal suspension” to manage bad behaviour in the classroom.

Dr Niall Muldoon, the Ombudsman for Children, last year said the invisibility around the use of reduced timetables is a "real and serious concern", as there is no oversight or official data on how the practice is used. 

Due to the impact of Covid-19, the introduction of these guidelines is now expected to be closer to September 2021. 

“The intention was that guidelines would be issued to schools earlier this year. However, this plan was impacted by the closure of school buildings as part of the government response to the global pandemic,” Mary Cregg of the Department of Education and Skills told the Oireachtas education committee on Thursday. 

The department's priorities following school closures included the continuation of learning, the development of supports for schools, the development of extended summer programmes for children with the most complex needs, and planning for the reopening of schools, she added.

It was also decided that new policy announcements would be kept to a minimum this year as schools reopened, she said, adding that this included changes to the curriculum due to be introduced. 

Consultation is underway with the education partners, including school management bodies, teachers and principals, to give schools time to plan and implement the guidelines, given how schools are currently operating, she added. 

Senator Lynne Ruane said there was a sense that reduced timetables were a form of modern-day discrimination when used inappropriately, particularly for Traveller children. 

"You're talking about a child who has come from a chaotic home life, experiencing poverty, or food poverty and is experiencing a whole load of trauma in their day. 

"This materialises in the classroom, and we have the evidence because parents have been speaking up so we know it is happening." 

Fianna Fáil Senator Fiona O'Loughlin she was conscious about how difficult these situations can be for teachers. 

"Teachers need our help and support in how to manage difficult situations." 

The clear guidelines have to be agreed in consultation with school management, teachers, parents and external partners as well, she added. 

"I remember hearing from one parent who would bring her child to school at 9am, and at 9.10am she'd get a phone call to remove her child so she had to stay in the car park of the school." 

"Once a child is marginalised, that child is significantly adversely impacted, not just on themselves but also on their life choices."