Education the biggest issue for Children's Rights Alliance helpline last year

The majority of calls to the helpline during 2020 related to the impact of Covid-19 on children’s school lives. File picture

Education was the biggest issue facing callers last year to the Children’s Rights Alliance helpline for young people, and their families.

In a turbulent year that saw schools close across the country, the majority of calls to the helpline during 2020 related to the impact of Covid-19 on children’s school lives.

As the first lockdown began in March 2020, the helpline saw an increase in the number of queries about access visits between separated parents and their children. 

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The blanket ban placed on children entering shops at the early stages of the pandemic had a "disproportionate" impact on people parenting alone and people whose partners were frontline workers, the report found. 

"It is clear some families are struggling," said Tanya Ward, chief executive of the Children’s Rights Alliance. "Struggling to navigate a complex justice system or an education system that is not meeting the needs of their child. 

"Some families simply do not know where to go to find the right support or an advocate who will help them." 

We are delighted to launch our 2020 Helpline and Legal Clinics Annual Report

Read about the main issues and concerns being raised by families across the country in 2020 here: https://t.co/NYK4VoRYAe#CRAHelpline20 pic.twitter.com/biioNlos2W

— Children's Rights Alliance (@ChildRightsIRL) July 20, 2021

The helpline also received a significant number of calls regarding reduced timetables, and from families struggling to access an appropriate school place for their child. The use of reduced timetables is one of the most concerning education issues emerging from calls to the helpline, according to Julie Ahern, legal and policy manager. 

“We have heard from families with children as young as six who have been placed on a reduced school day, sometimes for most of the school year. 

"In all of our cases in 2020, there was no plan in place about how to reintegrate the child back into a full school day and, in the vast majority of cases, children were only in school for an hour or two a day.”