The Department of Education is to begin inspecting boarding schools for the first time next year following concerns over gaps in child-protection rules.
The inspections – which had been under discussion before the recent scandal over abuse in Spiritan-run schools – will include a series of new child protection measures for schools with boarding facilities. They include ensuring non-teaching staff, such as members of the clergy or nurses, are legally obliged to report harm to children.
There have been concerns that existing child protection rules for all schools do not explicitly cover boarding schools.
The department has been in discussion with the sector since early this year to ensure it is fully compliant with the Children First Act (2015), which places legal obligations on schools over the safeguarding of children, and mandatory reporting of child protection and welfare concerns.
A spokesman for the department said it has had ongoing engagement with schools which operate boarding facilities over the course of the year.
“In May the department established an expert working group to develop additional procedures to support such schools to fulfil their child protection obligations and these are currently being finalised with the education partners,” he said.
“An inspection model based on the procedures is under development and will be rolled out in boarding facilities in quarter one, 2023.”
He said the measure formed part of the overall work of the department to review child-protection policies to identify any additional measures to ensure young people are kept safe from harm as they access education services.
“There was a gap there, which we were aware of, so we want to make sure that every possible measure is in place to ensure the safety of children,” said one individual familiar with the plans.
More than 300 people have made abuse allegations against at least 78 Spiritan priests, a spokesman for the religious congregation has said. The majority are understood to relate to Blackrock College and Willow Park in south Dublin.
[ Calls mount for inquiry into sexual abuse at Spiritan schoolsOpens in new window ]
The scale of abuse has prompted calls for the State to set up an inquiry into past abuse. The Government is continuing to scope out what form such an inquiry may take.
Latest enrolment data, meanwhile, shows there were 3,557 students boarding in recognised second-level schools in Ireland, in both the free and fee-charging sector.
While numbers in boarding schools have been declining gradually over recent decades, a key area of growth for schools is the international student market. Boarding costs range from about €8,000 to €18,000 a year.
Child-protection procedures for all schools are set out in a 2017 document, aimed at ensuring the statutory obligations of the Children First Act (2015) are being adhered to by school staff.
The department’s inspectorate has been carrying out compliance checks in day schools. These typically consist of two inspections within a relatively short time-frame and result in published reports. Inspections for boarding schools are likely to involve similar measures.
Tusla, the child protection and family agency, is understood to have advised that staff working with children who are not teachers should be categorised as “mandated persons”, or subject to the legal requirements of child-protection legislation.
Such mandated persons may include, for example, care workers, registered nurses and members of the clergy. Tusla has advised that a list of mandated persons be maintained in all boarding facilities and that this list be referred to in official child safeguarding statements.
