27th January 2011 - New Government Must Create A Whole New Department for Children
- Last Updated: Tuesday, 25 January 2011 17:08
‘Politicians only see statistics while Principals see only children,’ states leader of school Principals.
Irish school children have been short-changed for generations and only a complete change in mindset from the new Government can save our present generation from the same fate. This is the stark message which will be delivered by Mr Seán Cottrell to over 1,000 School Principals at the Annual Conference of the Irish Primary Principals’ Network (IPPN) at the City West Hotel in Dublin on Thursday, 27th January, 2011, the largest gathering of school leaders in Europe.
Mr Cottrell, Director of IPPN, believes that a recent survey of 900 school Principals, which revealed a worrying increase in the instances of emotional disturbance, attention disorders and family trauma amongst Irish school children, places an onus on the incoming Government to put the needs of children right at the top of its agenda. The IPPN Director believes that the only way to properly tackle this emerging problem is to create a new Department for Children.
‘Children with health and education needs frequently fall between the two Departments. We believe that the new Taoiseach should take a bold step and elevate the Minister for Children to full cabinet status. This new Department for Children would then take charge of all areas currently under Health and Education that are relevant to children. Our children are our future and their health and education needs must be met’, states Mr Cottrell.
Many social services designed for young people operate on a stand-alone basis, working independently of each other. Parents of those children most in need of services are often least aware of the existence of these services and least able to access them.
‘The child should be at the centre of all health and education services. Yet many of these services do not even communicate with each other. The onus should be on the service provider to reach all children in need and not the other way round. Every child born in the State should be tracked, not just for the purpose of health screenings but also for their learning needs and overall emotional development and care needs’, continued the IPPN Director.
Mr Cottrell recommends that Health & Education Organisers (HENO) be put in place to ensure that no child misses out or gets lost in the system.
