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School attendance strategies.
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22.—(1) The board of management of a recognised school shall, after consultation with the principal of, teachers teaching at, parents of students registered at, and the educational welfare officer assigned functions in relation to, that school, prepare and submit to the Board a statement of the strategies and measures it proposes to adopt for the purposes of fostering an appreciation of learning among students attending that school and encouraging regular attendance at school on the part of such students (hereafter in this section referred to as a “statement of strategy”).
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(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), a statement of strategy shall provide for—
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(a) the rewarding of students who have good school attendance records;
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(b) the identification at an early stage of students who are at risk of developing school attendance problems;
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(c) the establishment of closer contacts between the school concerned and the families of students to which paragraph (b) applies;
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(d) the fostering, promoting and establishing of contacts by the school with—
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(i) other schools that provide primary or post-primary education,
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(ii) bodies engaged in the provision of youth work programmes or services related thereto, or engaged in the organising of sporting or cultural activities, and
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(iii) such other bodies within the area in which the school concerned is situated as the board of management considers appropriate;
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(e) in so far as is practicable, the development, following consultation with the bodies referred to in paragraph (d), of programmes of activities designed to encourage the full participation of students in the life of the school;
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(f) in so far as is practicable, the coordination with other schools of programmes aimed at promoting good behaviour among students and encouraging regular attendance at school by students, and the exchanging of information relating to matters of behaviour and school attendance with such schools;
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(g) the identification of—
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(i) aspects of the operation and management of the school and of the teaching of the school curriculum that may contribute to problems relating to school attendance on the part of certain students, and
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(ii) strategies—
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(I) for the removal of those aspects in so far as they are not necessary or expedient for the proper and effective running of the school having regard, in particular, to the educational needs of students, and
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(II) that will encourage more regular attendance at school on the part of such students.
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(3) The board of management of a recognised school shall, in preparing a statement of strategy, have regard to such guidelines issued by the Board regarding the preparation and carrying into effect of statements of strategy.
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(4) A statement of strategy prepared and submitted by the board of management of a recognised school, in accordance with subsection (1), shall be carried out by that board of management in accordance with its terms.
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(5) The board of management of a recognised school may, with the consent of the Minister, and for the purpose of giving effect to a statement of strategy prepared and submitted by it in accordance with this section, appoint such and so many teachers employed by it, as it considers appropriate, to liaise with the parents of students registered at the school concerned and to give such assistance to the families of those students as the board of management concerned considers appropriate.
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(6) Two or more boards of management of recognised schools may, if they consider it appropriate, coordinate, and cooperate in, the carrying out of the statements of strategies prepared and submitted by them, in accordance with subsection (1).
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(7) The Board shall issue guidelines to boards of management of recognised schools for the purposes of this section.
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(8) The statement of strategy prepared by the board of management of a recognised school shall be included in the plan prepared by it under section 21 of the Act of 1998.
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