Barnardos calls for primary school pupils' database

A primary school pupil database is needed as a matter of urgency if pupils who drop out between primary and secondary school are to be helped, a Dáil committee was told yesterday.

Norah Gibbons, director of advocacy with Barnardos, told the Dáil Committee on Education and Science that around 1,000 pupils drop out after primary school but that the figure is only a "guesstimate" because there is no database at primary level to track students' progress.

June Tinsley, policy development officer with Barnardos, said that absenteeism is one of the strongest factors associated with early school-leaving and places great stress on parents.

"Every primary student misses on average 10 days in the school year but in the most disadvantaged urban areas, the average absence is 17," she said.

"One in five students from disadvantaged areas miss more than 20 days in primary and secondary school in a given year."

She also highlighted recent statistics, which showed that up to three times as many children in disadvantaged areas have serious literacy problems compared to a national average of 10 per cent.

Barnardos recommended that class sizes be reduced but that the Government recognise that smaller classes will not automatically produce better results and teachers need more training in the area.

Parental involvement should also be promoted.

The charity also recommended that there should be free pre-school places for all children in the year before they join primary school.