Report argues children are excluded from Transition Year due to expenses

A new report has found that children are being excluded, or cannot fully participate in Transition Year (TY), because their families are struggling to afford it.

The report, which was carried out by the Office of the Children’s Ombudsman (OCO), also discovered that several schools across the country do not have fair application processes in place for hopeful TY students.

The OCO has argued that TY access policies in some schools lack transparency, may be considered potentially discriminatory, and can be seen as inaccessible.

The report was initially organised by the OCO after it received complaints from teenagers who have been refused a spot in their school’s TY programme due to behaviour, mental health, or disability.

Within the report, two case studies were quoted, including one experience of a young person whose absences from school due to bullying resulted in him being denied a place on the TY programme.

Another young person, who has Down syndrome, was also rejected for TY after being interviewed by five adults with no accommodations in place.

Speaking about the findings, the director of investigations at the OCO, Nuala Ward, described TY as being a “life-changing time” for students each year.

“It is therefore concerning that some schools appear to be failing many young people by not having fair and transparent application and appeals processes in place,” she explained.

Ms Ward then went on to note that the expenses of TY are “also of concern” to families. 

“There is a significant disparity in the cost of TY between schools and in some cases children are excluded, or cannot fully participate, simply because their families cannot afford it. This is unacceptable,” she insisted, adding that the application process “requires the highest level of transparency and fairness.”

Ms Ward concluded that the Department of Education has been informed of the report, and that the Government responded by stating that “they were aware of a small number of problems with accessing TY but are only now beginning to gather data about barriers to participation."