Jess Casey: Breaking the link between educational disadvantage and homelessness

More than half of young homeless men surveyed had experienced reduced access to education due to suspension, rolling suspension, or expulsion, writes Jess Casey

The Peter McVerry Trust's research found rates of expulsion and suspension from school are significantly higher among the young men who use its services, versus the national average. Picture: Larry Cummins

The Peter McVerry Trust, a charity synonymous with housing in recent years, has expanded its remit into education, in particular early intervention for school leavers or those at risk of leaving.

Its reason for doing so is simple: The link between educational disadvantage and homelessness is huge.

Major research the charity conducted with the Dublin City University (DCU) Educational Disadvantage Centre found rates of expulsion and suspension from school are significantly higher among the young men who use its services, versus the national average.

More than half (55%) of the young homeless men  surveyed had experienced reduced access to education via suspension, rolling suspension, or expulsion. Almost two thirds (65.5%) of their permanent exclusions were due to non-violent behaviour, more than a third (37.9%) were due to difficult relationships with teachers, and more than a quarter (27.6%) were due to poor attendance.

The high number prompted researchers to call for a national target where no student would be suspended or expelled, but instead given multidisciplinary team support at both primary and post-primary level.

Since that research was released in 2019, almost 490 students have been expelled from Irish post-primary schools. Since September 2017, 922 students have been expelled, and since September 2020, 28 children have been expelled from primary school. 

It is a small figure compared to the overall number of student enrollments, but restricting a child’s access to school, be it through a reduced timetable, suspension, or expulsion, is a serious matter.

An expulsion should not permanently end a child’s access to education, but it is closely linked to later educational outcomes.

Those who leave school early are more likely than those who remain in school to have been expelled or suspended.

Early school-leavers tend to be over-represented in Irish prisons, and similar findings are echoed at Oberstown. Many children sent to the detention campus were found not to be engaging in any education prior to being sent there.

Researchers called for a national target where no student would be suspended or expelled, but instead given multidisciplinary team support.

A proposal to expel a student is made by the school’s board of management, in accordance with the school’s code of behaviour.

According to the Department of Education, it is a “very serious step”, and one which should only be considered in extreme cases of unacceptable behaviour and following “significant” efforts to address misbehaviour.

The decision must be made on serious grounds. This includes a student’s behaviour being a persistent cause of significant disruption to their peers or teachers, a student being responsible for serious damage to property, or the student’s continued presence in the school constituting a “real and significant threat to safety”.

In exceptional circumstances, a board of management may decide that a student be expelled for a first offence. Examples of this include a serious threat of violence against another student or member of staff, actual violence or physical assault, supplying illegal drugs to fellow students, or sexual assault.

Once notified of a school’s intention to expel a student, a Tusla educational welfare officer convenes what is called a Section 24 meeting.

According to the Department of Education, this meeting is to make all “reasonable” efforts to ensure provision is made for the continued education of the student until the final decision is taken by the school’s board of management.

A student should not be expelled before the passing of 20 school days following the receipt of a written notification by the Tusla Education Support Service (TESS).

If the board of management proceeds with the expulsion, it is required to confirm this in writing to TESS. 

Appeals process

Families can appeal the decision through a process called a Section 29 appeal.

Here, an appeals committee will consider the nature, scale, and persistence of any behaviour alleged, and whether or not such behaviour is confined to specific classes in the school.

The appeals committee can also examine the merit of any explanation offered by the student in relation to their behaviour, as well as the reasonableness of any efforts made by the school to enable the student to participate.

“Given that there are over 500,000 pupils currently attending Irish primary schools, the fact that there have been only 28 pupils expelled in the last three years is evidence of the caring, inclusive, and understanding environments that are present in our schools," said Seamus Mulconry, secretary general of the Catholic Primary Schools Management Association (CPSMA).

The advice of CPSMA to boards of management is that expulsions are only considered as a last resort when all other possible alternatives have been explored and exhausted, he added.

While there may be no upward trend in expulsions following the pandemic, these crucial support services have been put under pressure following lockdowns. Last month, school completion officers warned that the current budget for mental health supports in schools is insufficient to cope with rising demand.

The joint managerial body which represents voluntary secondary schools has also warned of high absenteeism rates in some secondary schools post-covid, which has resulted in students falling behind.

The Department of Education’s own review of out-of-school education provision included interviews with school managers who felt that most schools were doing all they could “within their resources” to keep students in mainstream provision “but are often unable to give the time and resources to some students who require it”.

“While expulsions are not now common in mainstream schools, those students who are expelled or asked to leave a school may struggle to find other mainstream schools to accept them," they said.

“The reputation for children develops early in school and it is difficult for it to be changed. Once they leave one school it is difficult to get another due to the reputation which has developed.”