Ombudsman for Children’s Office Transition Year In Focus calls for fair and equitable access for all children

The Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO) has received a number of complaints concerning young people who have been refused a place in their school’s Transition Year (TY) programme; some due to behaviour, mental health or disability. Parents, and young people themselves, are concerned about a lack of transparency when it comes to how TY places are allocated.

Nuala Ward, Director of Investigations at the Ombudsman for Children’s Office discusses the concerns outlined in the OCO In Focus Fair Access to Transition Year report:

“There is no doubt that Transition Year can be a life changing time for many students in Ireland. We have heard of shy children blossoming into confident teenagers, new life paths are discovered and we have heard from the school community that transition year can be the year that students, who may not thrive in the ‘traditional’ school setting and subjects, become engaged and more confident about their ability to perform well in the Senior Cycle.

“It is therefore concerning that some schools appear to be failing many young people by not having fair and transparent application and appeals processes in place. Indeed, some schools could, potentially, be considered discriminatory as there is a failure by some schools to provide reasonable accommodations for children with disabilities or mental health difficulties in schools where there is a competitive process to access TY.

“Our report includes Ben’s story, a young person whose absences due to bullying went against him when it came to getting a TY place. We also meet Fatima, a young person with Down Syndrome, who failed to secure a TY place after being interviewed by five adults with no reasonable accommodations.

“The cost of TY is also of concern. There is a significant disparity in the cost of TY between schools and in some cases children are excluded, or cannot fully participate, simply because their families cannot afford it. This is unacceptable.

“In our view it is a significant decision by a school to exclude a child from entry to this hugely advantageous year and therefore any decision making process requires the highest level of transparency and fairness. However, not all schools have a publicly accessible policy, there is lack of transparency about how some students are selected over others, and there is no appeals mechanism to provide answers to these excluded children and their parents.

“The OCO raised these concerns with the Department of Education who told us that they were aware of a small number of problems with accessing TY but are only now beginning to gather data about barriers to participation.

“The Department recently published its updated Transition Year Programme Statement which highlights the need for inclusivity which we warmly welcome. However, it is our view that the Department can be more proactive to ensure schools justly administer access to TY so no child is treated unfairly.

“After 50 years of Transition Year and with 80% of students participating, the value of TY is clear. We have heard stories from teachers, parents and young people, who have told us about how TY saved students from dropping out and that Transition Year also gives an advantage to students academically.

“In order to ensure that the rights of all children are respected, protected and fulfilled, schools must ensure that a fair, rights based Transition Year admission policy is in place, is made available to students and their parents, and is followed correctly.”

ENDS

• 26 September 2024
• Type: Press Release
• Topic: Education