Can Ireland become the best education system in Europe ? It ’ s time for a discussion says the Ombudsman for Children , Dr Niall Muldoon .

As the Ombudsman for Children I am statutorily bound to promote the rights of all children in Ireland and that job description often brings me into the arena of education for those under 18 years of age . Last year , as part of a European Network of Ombudsman for Children ’ s Offices I had the opportunity to visit and meet with teachers and learners in Finland . I got to see their schools , experience their hot meals ( which were very tasty and filling as well as Kosher and with vegetarian options ), see their facilities , learn about their supports and discuss their successes and drawbacks .

Minister Bruton has rightly set a target for our schools to become the best in Europe by 2026 . Finland have spent 16 years at the top of the Pisa League Table and they credit that to a significant and deliberate shift of focus just over 20 years ago when , as a people , they agreed to a societal contract that essentially read : We ( the Government ) will provide small class ratios ( 1-13 ), better facilities and better staffing across a range of professionals ( teachers , nurses , social workers , psychologists , catering ) in every school in return for you ( society ) paying higher taxes .

This contract was agreed to offer a more holistic , individual-centred education system from Primary to

Secondary level and the payoff is low absenteeism , lower levels of mental health issues , better physical and emotional experiences for all children and rising academic standards . I witnessed children doing their school work in the warm , airy and comfortable spaces along the corridor because they found it too noisy or distracting within the classroom and they had permission to absent themselves to the hall . I saw that the school was designed by the department of education with a huge input from children in the catchment area , hence there were soft furnishings in all the windows to allow sitting on wide ledges , there were little ‘ nooks and crannies ’ for small gatherings , there was a dance studio and martial arts room alongside the very wellequipped gym which also facilitated drama events . There was a walking track which circled the whole school for children who are not team orientated but still want to be active and we saw it being used by a class who wanted to learn while moving .

In reality , the Finnish education system has taken a proper children ’ s rights approach to how it fulfils its mandate – all decisions are made in the best interest of the children , they have ensured that children have a voice in every stage of their education so that it best fits them and does not discriminate on any grounds . Hot meals at school helped children who may not have had breakfast focus better on their education and helped circumvent a known poverty trap . These meals are available to all children regardless of means .

This system is hugely impressive but there are some ‘ flies in the ointment ’. For example , teachers are not happy that their pay does not reflect the quality of the work they do . The country as a whole still has the highest teenage suicide rate in the EU though that is generally found to be a consequence of the long term darkness for six months of the year .

There are valuable messages for Ireland from this type of system :

• Finland recognised that a positive , person-centred education system which values , and caters for every individual child will produce the best academic results but with the bonus that many more children will maximise their potential .

• The Finnish society , as a whole , acknowledged such a system will cost more in taxes and were willing to pay for it .

• Finland has maintained their approach over 20 years regardless of which political party was in power because there was cross party agreement not to change it for political gain .

• They recognised that teachers need a ) to be allowed to focus on educating and therefore provide every school with their own psychologist , social worker and nurse and b ) can educate better with smaller ratios and so brought in more teachers with better qualifications .

My Office conducted a consultation with over 300 young people on education in 2013 and one person said how it was “ just very stressful … You don ’ t really get to find out much about yourself through education .” When they were asked what they would actually want from their school they were very clear : “ Discovery … You should get to find out more things about yourself through education … Like discover your own talents and skills rather than it being forced upon you that you have to do this , this and this to get on .”

To become the best in Europe , Ireland will have to be better than Finland . I believe the Finnish have challenged us as a society to consider how we want our education system to look one generation from now and to ask , are we willing to pay for that ?

These questions cannot just be left to politicians or department officials – the people need to be heard and this especially includes children and young people who will be most affected . It is time to begin the discussion .