Coughlan should act on Oir Report [finegael.org]
- Published: 25 May 2010
One in six ‘forgotten children’ drop out before Leaving Cert
Speaking following the launch of the first Joint Oireachtas Report (see here) on preventing early school leaving, Fine Gael Senator Fidelma Healy Eames, who is the rappateur for the Report, said the Minister for Education, Mary Coughlan, should heed its findings if she is serious about tackling the crisis of early school leaving in Ireland.
The Report entitled ‘Staying in Education: A New Way Forward - School & Out-of-School Factors Protecting Against Early School Leaving’ took more than 18 months to collate, interviewed 41 early school leavers from 'at risk' groups and convened a 25 member Expert Group of practitioners and researchers.
Speaking following the launch of the Report, Senator Healy Eames said:
“This major body of work is a significant step in identifying the difficulties and needs of our young people who do not wish to stay in school. It makes a number of recommendations to support parents, points to ways the school must change to engage pupils who disengage and experience failure early and also points to recreational and leisure supports needed in the community. If heeded by Government, the findings will go a considerable distance to eliminating the obstacles experienced by our early school leavers.
Full Story: www.finegael.org
