‘I never thought I would do my Junior Cert’: Inside the centre helping teens stay in education

For Sean Moore (16) from west Dublin, secondary school was “just bad”. He found it difficult to settle, was “getting into trouble” and “just thought [he] wasn’t a school person”.

Around the time of his mother’s death, as he was turning 14, he disengaged from school altogether. He remained out of education for more than a year.

“I felt really down. I was stressed. I was bored. I wanted to be in a school, but I didn’t know if we could find one. I never thought my nanny would find one as good as this,” he says, sitting in a classroom at the Carline centre in Lucan.

Carline, an out-of-school education centre for adolescents aged 12 to 17 for whom all other interventions to get them back into school have failed, gets them to Junior Certificate and supports them beyond that.

Founded in the 1990s by a local nun, it has been managed by the Peter McVerry Trust since 2019.

Like other such facilities, it has a growing waiting list, with referrals coming via Tusla, schools and families. It has 30 places, 15 in a city-centre location. It has to turn young people away every year.

“Generally, every young person referred into us has suffered adverse childhood trauma or has grown up in a very challenging environment,” says Sarah Morrissey, principal and head of youth services with the Trust.

“Since Covid we are seeing more children referred in with significant mental health difficulties.”

Students here are taking seven Junior Cert subjects rather than the usual nine. “Our trauma-informed approach enables the student first and foremost to feel safe and supported by a team. There’s eye contact, smiles, warmth, support,” says Morrissey.

“We have small classes. We don’t have a uniform or books. We don’t do homework. The kids don’t have to bring anything here other than them themselves. We feed them, nurture them. They have a home-cooked lunch every day. That is really important.”

Teaching is at a pace that suits the young people – some are taught individually, and subjects are often taught differently – fewer long texts, and more videos and project work. Maths may be taught through playing dominoes or scrabble, or baking, with ingredients to measure.

“If we weren’t here, I believe not one of the 30 kids here would be in school, not one,” Morrissey says.

Nationally, about 1,000 teenagers leave education each year before they have attained a Junior Certificate – the most basic qualification without which it is “near impossible to progress and thrive in adulthood”, says Morrissey.

Some have been expelled from schools, some are unable to cope with school and “many ... were reported as experiencing severe emotional and social difficulties”, a department of education report, Review of Out of School Education Provision, commissioned in 2018, found.

There is no data on whether all who disengage from school are re-engaged in education.

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The report identified 23 out-of-school centres around the State, “managed and staffed by a committed and caring group of educators ... taking a holistic approach ... [providing] wraparound supports ... catering for ... educational, social, behavioural and mental development”.

Each operates slightly differently and is disparately located, leaving children in some areas with few or no options.

“The lack of standardised structures in the current out-of-school provision leaves it vulnerable in terms of governance, funding and staffing,” says the report.

Its 2022 recommendations, including standardised referral pathways, governance structures and resourcing, remain unimplemented.

Founded in 2007, iScoil provides online and blended in-person/online education across the 26 counties.

Referrals from agencies like Tusla are growing: from 105 in the 2018/19 school year to 344 last year. The numbers iScoil has to turn away are also increasing – from 55 in 2023 to 134 last year.

Chief executive Brian Fitzsimons called on the department to implement its own report, saying each child, “no matter the gaps in their schooling, has huge potential and, we must not forget, a legal entitlement to education.

“The reality of having to turn away State referrals and leave highly vulnerable young people with no education options is not good enough. Quality alternative education providers need investment and an adequate policy platform,” he said.

Back in Carline, Nicole Sweeney (16) tells of her delight at completing her Junior Cert last June.

She had left secondary school three weeks into second year and was out of education all that year.

“I was having panic attacks in my old school. There was no support, and I was feeling sick and scared going in. Here, the teachers are different – much more open. They’ll ask, ‘Why are you acting out?’ ‘How are you today?’ There’s always support for you.”

She did “really well” in her exams, including a distinction in English.

“When I was out of school, I never thought I would even do my Junior Cert. I was so overwhelmed when I got my results. I started crying and all; I was so happy. My mam was crying as well, saying, ‘I’m so proud of you. I knew you could do it.’”

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She plans to study childcare. Sean hopes to get an electrician apprenticeship.

A spokesman for the department said: “The department is currently finalising the first phase of an implementation plan [for the report] that will be presented to the minister shortly.

“It takes account of the many positive developments in the education space, to support children and young people at risk of disengagement and early school leaving, since the implementation group commenced its work in 2022.”