IPPN

Published: 18 October 2018

The Vetting Act, Section 12(3A) provides that where two or more relevant organisations jointly agree in writing to the employment, contract, placement or permission of a particular person to undertake relevant work or activities, it shall be a defence in any prosecution under Section 12(2) of the Act to show that the other organisation had received a vetting disclosure from the National Vetting Bureau, in respect of that persons employment, contracting or placement. It is at the discretion of each individual board to decide how they wish to deal with their vetting obligations and there is no onus on them to enter into joint arrangements.

Transition Year work experience requests are frequent topics submitted to IPPN’s Professional Guidance Team cyclically. It is advisable that the Chairperson of the Board of Management contact the school’s management body for advice on how to accommodate requests by transition year (TY) students whereby their representing organisations has obtained a vetting disclosure in respect of the person from the National Vetting Bureau. A person under the age of 16 cannot be Garda vetted.

CPSMA has prepared a template Joint Agreement for use by its member schools which requires the student to show their vetting disclosure to the school prior to commencing their placement. Additionally, a template statutory declaration form has been made available by CPSMA which should be signed by the TY student on their placement. The vetting disclosure reference number, the date and the person who viewed it should be recorded and kept on file.

It is essential to ensure that both the Agreement (and letter) and Statutory Declaration are completed by the other organisation and that the student or coach shows the school its original vetting disclosure prior to commencing in the school. The school should take note of the vetting disclosure reference number and the date and to whom it was shown and keep this information on the relevant placement file. It is important to note that the vetting disclosure itself should not be copied for data protection reasons.

Published: 18 October 2018

Scenario: What if a parent makes an allegation that his son in fourth class is being bullied and the school is doing nothing about it….

Having a professional conversation with staff is the first step in developing an understanding of how such a situation is managed. Thereafter, it needs to be communicated/discussed with the Board of Management (BoM) and the parent body. It is necessary to acknowledge also that often issues like this arise, because there may be conflict between families outside of the school environment. It can lead to entrenched attitudes among adults in seeking to resolve the matter.

As this is an allegation of bullying, it needs to be investigated under the school’s Policy on Bullying. This is an opportunity for all staff to re-visit the policy and be clear on the steps involved in it.

‘Have you spoken to the class teacher?’ is the starting point. Discuss the Bullying Policy in conjunction with the Code of Behaviour, which may need to be implemented at some point. The outcome of this conversation may possibly be a one-pager of the steps involved, which would aid in communicating to all, exactly how the school engages with the process of seeking resolution. At times, how the school has dealt with the situation, becomes a complaint, at which point it moves into the Parental Complaints Procedure (previous What if scenario). The original bullying allegation can often become secondary to the new issue of how the school has dealt with it. Adherence to the procedures becomes all the more important at this stage.

The importance of having this conversation at a time when no issue exists, to ensure clarity, consistency of approach and giving staff confidence in the procedures, is essential preparation for an issue that can be complex and require difficult conversations.

Possible language to be used in the course of conversations:
‘Let us find ways of working together to do what is best for your son’.
‘We need to work together on this’.

It is necessary to continuously use this kind of language in order to keep the focus on the child, who often gets lost in the process.

As always, the Professional Guidance Panel is available to discuss issues of this kind and help in preparing you for those difficult conversations. Contact 021 4824070 or email advice@ippn.ie to arrange a callback from a member of the team.

Published: 18 October 2018

The impact of the Commencement of Section 11 of the Education (Admission to Schools) Act 2018 commenced on 3 October 2018. Amendment of the Equal Status Act 2000 in regard to religious requirements

This section provides for the amendment of the Equal Status Act 2000 to remove, in the case of recognised oversubscribed Catholic primary schools, the existing provision that permits such schools to use religion as a selection criterion in school admissions.

In practical terms, oversubscribed Catholic primary schools will no longer be able to give priority to Catholic families. While a school may still have this provision in their current Admissions Policy (they haven’t had an opportunity to update their Policy), they cannot implement this part of their Admission Policy in practice from 3 October 2018. The DES has advised schools to strike through this enrolment criterion in their current enrolment policy.

This provision relates to the Equal Status Act, 2000. If a parent has a complaint that a Catholic primary school continues to give priority to Catholic families in admission, a parent must take that complaint to the Workplace Relations Commission (merged with the Equality Tribunal). This is not a matter that can be considered under Section 29 of the Education Act, 1998.

The Section 29 Appeals Administration Unit will monitor Appeal Application forms and will advise parents accordingly, when they should take their complaint/appeal to the Workplace Relations Commission.

Published: 11 October 2018

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