A Donegal based senator says a provision to help manage children with specific challenges in school may in fact, be making their situation worse.
The ‘Reduced School Hours’ programme allows for a temporary modification to a pupil’s timetable, meaning they don’t have to fulfil the full school day.
It was initially designed to help a child return to school gradually, after an absence or to address a specific problem.
However, Senator Eileen Flynn told Minister Noel Grealish in the Seanad this week that the provision has, in some cases, been used to control children and avoid problems, with children from the Traveller and Roma communities disproportionately affected.
She says every child should have the same opportunity as her own child:
