Second level students need a stronger voice in what happens in the classroom

Enviado por José Antonio Sierra

Second level students need a stronger voice in what happens in the
classroom, according to a vote at today’s Dáil na nÓg, the country’s
national youth parliament.

Some 200 delegates, aged 12-17, were elected to attend today’s Dáil na nÓg
event in Croke Park and represent the 5,500 young people involved in the 31
Comhairle na nÓg youth councils across the country.

They spent the day at the national youth parliament discussing the need for
young people to have a stronger voice in their education and schools under
four key themes; Subject Choice, Transition Year, What Happens in the
Classroom, and Uniforms and Personal Appearance.

Jan O’Sullivan T.D., Minister for Education and Skills was present for the
result of the vote, as well as senior education officials.

Delegates voted that getting a stronger voice for students in ‘What Happens
in the Classroom’ is to be the top priority of the representative body of
Comhairle na nÓg nationally – its National Executive.

One young person from each Comhairle is elected to the National Executive
for a term of two years. The incoming 2016 - 2017 National Executive will
work on the topic of ‘What happens in the classroom’ in education and
schools as they have been mandated by their peers at today’s vote.

They will work directly with and be supported by officials from the
Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Department of Education
and Skills to implement the changes recommended by the young people.

Opening the event, Dr James Reilly TD, Minister for Children and Youth
Affairs outlined some significant changes ahead for the national youth
parliament.

He said: “For the first time, we have a Minister attending Dáil na nÓg who
has direct responsibility for the topic being discussed and I am pleased to
announce that from this year onwards, whatever Department is responsible
for the topic under discussion in future sessions of Dáil na nÓg will have
the Minister in attendance and will support the work of the Comhairle na
nÓg National Executive.

“This is the part of the mechanism to support Comhairle na nÓg with
Brighter Outcomes, Better Futures, the National Policy Framework for
Children and Young People 2014 – 2020. This is a significant change in the
way that decisions made by young people at Dáil na nÓg will be progressed
and it recognises the importance of listening to young people and acting on
what they say.”

The day culminated in a Questions and Answers session, which was chaired by
Bernie McNally, Assistant Secretary General of the Department of Children
and Youth Affairs, during which delegates sought answers from Jan
O'Sullivan TD, Minister of Education and Skills and senior policy makers on
the issues discussed during the day:

Panel of experts:
•      Jan O'Sullivan TD, Minister for Education and Skills
•      Dr. Alan Wall, Assistant Secretary, Department of Education and
Skills
•      Clive Byrne, Director, National Association of Principals and
Deputy Principals
•      Dr. Domhall Fleming, Senior Inspector, Department of Education and
Skills

Ends


Editor’s notes

Comhairle na nÓg

Comhairle na nÓg (www.comhairlenanog.ie) are Comhairle na nÓg are child and
youth councils in the 31 local authority areas of the country, which give
children and young people a voice in the development of local services and
policies. They are the recognised national structure for participation by
children and young people in local decision-making, supported by the
Department of Children and Youth Affairs (DCYA).

The Comhairle na nÓg gets young people’s voices heard in two ways: working
on topics of importance to young people; and acting as a consultative forum
for adult decision-makers in the locality.

Comhairle na nÓg are supported by the DCYA Comhairle na nÓg Development
Fund. Local authorities also provide funding and resources for Comhairle na
nÓg, as well as other organisations at local level. The DCYA also funds
three regional Participation Officers, who provide advice, resources and
training to all 31 Comhairle na nÓg Co-ordinators.

Dáil na nÓg

Dáil na nÓg is the national parliament for young people aged 12-17 years.
The DCYA funds and oversees Dáil na nÓg, which is hosted biennially by the
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.  Successive independent
evaluations note that Dáil na nÓg has gone from strength to strength, with
more challenging and contentious debates. This is the first year that the
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs has invited the Minister with
policy responsibility for the topic under discussion to attend Dáil na nÓg
with senior officials. Dáil na nÓg is an initiative of the DCYA. Foróige
and Youth Work Ireland are contracted to organise Dáil na nÓg in
co-operation with the DCYA.

Comhairle na nÓg National Executive

One  representative  from each Comhairle na nÓg is elected to the Comhairle
na nÓg National Executive (formerly the Dáil na nÓg Council), which follows
up on the recommendations from the Dáil and tries to make changes for young
people  in  those areas. The National Executive, which has a term of office
of two years,  meets once a month and is facilitated and supported by the
DCYA,  who  ensure that they get the opportunity to engage with appropriate
Ministers, policy-makers, Oireachtas Committees and other decision-makers.

-to identify key areas of work from the top three recommendations  agreed
at Dáil na nÓg;
-to conduct research into the issues identified;
-to meet with relevant Ministers, TDs, Government officials, policy makers
and other stakeholders to seek their support in making changes for young
people on the issues identified;
-to feed back to their Comhairle na nÓg on the work of the Council;
-to represent Comhairle na nÓg at conferences and other events.

The Comhairle na nÓg National Executive is named as a mechanism for
engagement by children and young people in the implementation structures
for Better Outcomes, Brighter Futures: The national policy framework for
children and young people (2014-2020) and in the National Strategy on
Children and Young People’s Participation in Decision-making (2015-2020).






Issued by the Press and Communications Office at the Department of Children
                            and Youth Affairs,
                            Tel: 01 647 - 3153
                      Email: mediadcya@dcya.gov.ie