This blog is a collaboration between Kate Moscato (teacher in a community-based EOTAS centre), and Montserrat Fargas Malet and Siobhán McAlister from the Centre for Children’s Rights.
“I went to that EOTAS and it changed me. That’s who I am, that is why I am who I am today. (…) I got way more, in that EOTAS I got way more, I learnt more than I did in a mainstream school.” (Dylan)
The Education Authority in Northern Ireland recently announced a series of saving measures to reduce projected deficits. One of these measures is suspending referrals to external contracted providers of EOTAS (Education Other Than at School) services. This may eventually lead to the closure of these centres that provide a fundamental service for vulnerable children and young people in our communities. Summarising its services, the Department of Education have stated that:
“EOTAS makes educational provision for children with social, emotional, behavioural, medical or other issues who, without its provision, cannot sustain access to suitable education. It allows children who have been expelled from, suspended from, or have otherwise disengaged from, their registered school to participate in education” (DE, 2017).
The opening quotation above is taken from an interview with Dylan (not his real name), a 17-year-old living in homeless accommodation. We interviewed him as part of the RADICAL (Respect And Disrespect In Children’s and Adolescents’ Lives) project, a research study that explores children and young people’s understandings and experiences of respect and disrespect. Dylan spoke of how he was subjected to relentless bullying by his peers in school, which he explained was ignored by staff. He turned to violence and was expelled. During his interview, Dylan contrasted his experience in EOTAS (where he felt respected) with that of mainstream education (where he felt disrespected). This was not the experience of Dylan alone. Four other young people in our study had similar experiences and were availing of alternative education services. These young people (as well as many of the other participants in our study) equated respect with being adequately supported (particularly in terms of education settings), cared about, listened to, understood, and taken seriously. Disrespect, on the other hand, was associated with being dismissed, belittled, their needs disregarded/ignored, and negatively judged.
In this blog post, we argue why we should invest in, and appropriately fund, alternative education services for young people.
Reason 1 – Alternative education provision is essential to comply with the obligations set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) (1989), in particular: Articles 12, 28 and 29
Education is a child’s right, and alternative education services/providers support the realisation of this right. Article 28 of the UNCRC establishes that all children should be able to access education and be treated with dignity, respect and equality while in school. Article 29 states that education should support children in developing to their full potential.
In addition to Articles 28 and 29, Article 12 states that children who are capable of forming their own views have the right to express those views freely, and that their views should be given ‘due weight according to the age and maturity of the child’. To attend EOTAS, young people themselves need to agree and have a say in the decision to move there. While there, they are also given a choice in the studies they engage in, and the level of participation within activities. EOTAS provides an environment where children’s views, and often their differences, are respected and acknowledged; at the same time as gently challenging them without the often excluding consequences in a mainstream setting.
Previous QUB research has shown that “mainstream provision, for some young people, is inflexible, constrained by academic priorities and in some cases does not provide inclusive practice”. Alternative education providers can respond to needs not met in mainstream education for these young people. As highlighted by Greg (not his real name), a 16-year-old interviewee from the RADICAL project, EOTAS provides young people with the time and space to have their needs addressed and be appropriately supported:
“Just treat me with really good respect. Try and help the best they can… They just don’t sit there and look at me like teachers in my other school…they genuinely do, they help you and all, so… My work and all.”
Reason 2 – These centres can be life-changing for many young people
As illustrated by Dylan’s opening quote, this type of provision can be and feel life-changing for these young people. For instance, Eoife (not her real name) is a pupil in community EOTAS. She will be leaving at the end of this academic year but is devastated about the potential closure:
“I was constantly suspended, never wanted to go to school, got bullied badly, I refused to go due to a lot of different situations. I never got the help I needed as it’s such a big environment…. here. I have gained confidence in myself, and I never get as frustrated as I used to. Every teacher in this place is my biggest cheerleader, and they always believed in me, which led me to believe in myself.”
Reason 3 – Alternative education services make economic sense in the long-term
Previous research has suggested that young people excluded from mainstream schools are more vulnerable to a range of risks, including substance misuse, homelessness, and being incarcerated as a youth. Young people who are refusers or who have been excluded are thus likely to require a range of resources. Educational Wellbeing Officers, Social Workers, Link Officers, Teachers, Parents, Educational Psychologists and more, are all involved. The drain on public expenditure to try and enforce attendance for a young person who has disengaged can drag on for years, sometimes until they have passed the age of compulsory attendance and therefore, they leave with no qualifications.
Alternative education services, especially if they are appropriately funded, can provide young people excluded from mainstream education with supports and opportunities that may avoid criminalisation, poverty and homelessness. Funding EOTAS offers these young people an opportunity to engage and thrive, it offers a potential escape from generational disillusionment, hopelessness, and a lack of career progress.
In conclusion: the case for community-based EOTAS
In its Concluding Observations in 2023 to the UK, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended that the State Party ‘strengthen measures to address inequalities in educational attainment and improve educational outcomes for children in disadvantaged situations’ and for those children excluded from school, it should ‘provide for appropriate alternatives’ (p. 17).
While the recently announced plan appears to focus specifically on externally funded EOTAS provision, it sends a broader message about the commitment to invest in the education of some of our most marginalised children and young people. Young people like Dylan rejected mainstream education because he felt rejected by it. EOTAS rebuilt Dylan’s trust in education and educators, and it enhanced his own self-worth enabling him to develop his full potential and exercise his right to education more effectively.
Therefore, it is disappointing that EA plan to disinvest in community-based services which have worked hard to establish relationships with children and their parents and take a holistic approach to responding to educational needs. Community-based EOTAS centres have been working in Northern Ireland’s divided society since the Troubles, and they provide a crucial service to the community. Local communities trust them to deliver a safe space for young people who may otherwise be on the streets. They work with local organisations such as Extern and community policing, to bridge the gap between these young people and authorities which have been historically distrusted. Over the years, community-based EOTAS have offered places to young people who had not been in school for years. Many of them have complex needs, are dysregulated and lacking a voice, with home lives which have been severely affected by poverty and multiple adversities or even broken down.
Even though we know the EA’s funds are limited, savings should not be made by cutting vital services, which provide fundamental rights to those most at risk of marginalisation and social exclusion.
About the authors
Kate Moscato is a teacher in a community-based EOTAS Service. She previously worked in mainstream education and in supporting children with special educational needs. She graduated from QUB with a MA in Special Educational Needs and Inclusion in 2021 and is a Scout Leader currently supporting a children’s research advisory group in the QUB ESRC-funded RADICAL project.
Dr Montserrat Fargas is a Research Fellow in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, and a member of the Centre for Children’s Rights. She is a researcher in the QUB ESRC-funded RADICAL project.
Dr Siobhán McAlister is a Reader in Criminology in the School of Social Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, and a member of the Centre for Children’s Rights. She is the Principal Investigator leading the QUB ESRC-funded RADICAL project.
Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash