Concern has been raised that children in care are not receiving the education they are entitled to by law. 

In the case of one child, a judge said he was “incandescent with rage” that a child in care was almost 15 but had not had one single day of secondary education. 

Child Law Project spokesperson Dr. Maria Corbett said the case demonstrates that robust intervention from the Department of Education is sometimes needed. 

“There was a difficulty there around accessing a tutor to come to his residential centre and as a result, the courts got involved and the issue was getting resolved,” she said. 

“Which just highlighted the need for the Department of Education to be engaged with these children; often there are creative solutions needed to ensure that they are accessing education, given their circumstances.”

Disabilities

Dr Corbett said there needs to be more engagement between State agencies and children with disabilities need to be given the care they are entitled to. 

“A significant proportion of the children in care have a disability or mental health needs,” she said. 

“So, Tusla needs to work closely with the HSE and access their services. 

“We’re seeing in some of these cases, even though there is a joint protocol for those two agencies to work together, that often that is not being adhered to.”

According to the CSO, there were 9,744 children in care in January last year.

Main image: A student learning.