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Parents: Our prescription for the malady of school behaviour:

The National Association for Vocational Schools and Community Colleges calls on the Minister for Education, Mary Hanafin to now give the public time scales for the implementation of key recommendations of the report of the Task Force, “School Matters”. The first steps to tackling a major concern in education have been made in that we have identified solutions to the problem of School Behaviour but this means nothing but further frustration for all of us unless the DES now follows through.

As the constituent body for parents and guardians of students attending Vocational Schools and Community Colleges, we are now publicly showing support for

• Behaviour Support Teams for all Disadvantaged Schools and elsewhere when a school or the DES deems it to be a need.
• Behaviour Support Classrooms within the School
• A range of teaching methodologies and training for these
• Inter-agency approach where appropriate… This would be particularly necessary for issues such as bullying and low self-esteem.
• Greater and meaningful inclusion of the partners in education demonstrations of this would include parent rooms either within the school, the nearest Education Centre or even the Volunteer Centre, whichever is feasible.
• Vibrant and trained Student Councils in every school with meaningful participation in policy formation and issues which affect students
• Reduction in class size as recommended in the McGuinness Report regardless of the overall class average… We believe that this is a necessary medicine to cure many of the ills in Irish Education
• Include parent representation from the statutory parent bodies to participate in any future developments emanating from the report from the task force
• Effectiveness of the Recommendations to be assessed at the end of a suitable period of implementation