Absenteeism from school in the days following collection of Junior Cert exam results has been "very low" in south Tipperary since the development of a new programme aimed at ensuring students are kept away from alcohol after they pick up their results. Eithne Donnellan, Health Correspondent, reports
The programme has been in operation for two years, and will run again this year, with secondary schools and pubs across the area to receive 2,000 information packs in the coming week in advance of the distribution of this year's Junior Cert results.
The provisional date for the release of results is Wednesday, September 14th.
Sinéad O'Mahony Carey, drug education officer with the Health Service Executive (HSE) substance misuse service in south Tipperary, said yesterday a review of the effectiveness of the programme was about to begin. However there was already anecdotal evidence that it was of benefit. "We collected absenteeism rates for the Thursday and Friday after the results came out over the past two years and they have been very low."
However, these rates have not yet been compared with absenteeism rates for previous years. It was hoped, she said, that this data would be looked at in the coming year.
A count was also envisaged of how many dealings these Junior Cert students had with gardaí, with clinics treating sexually transmitted infections (STI) and A&E units after picking up their results. Data would be compared from years before and after the programme was introduced.
Ms O'Mahony Carey said the packs, distributed to schools in the Clonmel, Carrick-on-Suir, Cahir, Cashel, Tipperary town and surrounding areas, are passed on to parents.
They contain information on drink and drugs, and urge parents to observe "the five As" after results are released. These refer to advice to parents to be aware of where their child is after getting their results; awake when they come home; available to listen; around for them after they pick up results; and assertive as parents.
The cross-community initiative - information is also sent to vintners to make sure they know when results are released - was the idea of a sub-committee of the local drugs taskforce in south Tipperary.
"We don't want to spoil their [ the students'] fun but we do not want them in A&E departments, in contact with gardaí or STI clinics. They are too young to be using alcohol to celebrate," Ms O'Mahony Carey said.