Miss School, Miss Out

Miss School, Miss Out, Missed Opportunities: Ballymun Whitehall Area Partnership

The Ballymun Whitehall Area Partnership's conference Miss School, Miss Out, Missed Opportunities took place in the Axis Theatre, Ballymun on Monday 30th November. Guest speakers included Dr Paul Downes, Director of St Patrick's College's Educational Disadvantage Centre; Dr Aisling Gillen, National Specialist Children's Services, Health Services Executive; Ms Nuala Doherty, Director of Educational Welfare Services, National Educational Welfare Board; Ms Eleanor McClorey, Chief Executive, Young Ballymun, and Ms Marian Hackett, Ballymun Principals' Network and Principal of Holy Spirit GNS, Ballymun.

The Conference was chaired by Mr Fergus Finlay, CEO Barnardos, and Mr Pat Carey, Minister of State, Department of the Taoiseach and Government Chief Whip, officially launched the Ballymun School Attendance Initiative. Deputy Roisín Shortall, TD, Labour Party Spokesperson on Family and Social Affairs, provided a summation of the presentations.

Dr Downes' presentation 'Family Involvement in Education in Ballymun, Research Study' examined data on local parents' experiences of their children's preschool, primary and post primary schools, as well as their networks of social and emotional support, with a view to developing a range of policy recommendations.

Last Updated: Friday December 11 2009