WHO'S WHO introduces people who are making an important contribution to education in Ireland today. 

NAME: Eddie Ward
OCCUPATION: Chief Executive Officer, National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB)

Where are you from?
I grew up in the heart of the countryside, in a place called Graigueachullaire in the parish of Dunmore, Co Galway. My family lived on a small Land Commission holding at a time when subsistence farming was the norm and “free education” opened up a world of opportunity for me and my generation.

What is your earliest childhood memory?
At some very early stage of my developmenT, I remember telling the local parish priest at the “stations” that I would be his boss some day. He has not stayed about to find out! I also remember being welcomed on my first day at Strawberry Hill National School by the principal Sean Purcell, one of the “terrible twins” of Galway football. We have grand names where I come from. I understand that Cúchulainn passed by when he ran the Eascair Riada on his way to or from Maebh.

How many siblings have you?
4 boys – I am the second youngest.

Are you a close family?
Yes – we meet at funerals and eye each other speculatively.

Where did you go to school/college?
After primary school, I went to the Incarnate Word College in Dunmore and afterwards to University College Galway. Incidentally, both the primary and secondary schools have since closed.

Was there a teacher or lecturer who had a particular influence on you?
Sean Purcell gave me a lifelong interest in Gaelic football while Michael D Higgins opened a world of new ideas for me. He had a distinct dislike for the parochial nature of rural Ireland and the valley of squinting windows lifestyle at the time, which was some years before our recent “period of plenty”.

What led you to your job as CEO of NEWB?
Just as a child gets one opportunity to go to school, one gets one lifelong opportunity to create and make the world a better place. Public service can be and is a force for change and I have been extremely fortunate in the opportunities that have come my way to champion and lead it. The NEWB provided me with the single greatest and most enjoyable challenge of my life so far. Education is a key driver of positive change for children, families and communities and if a child is not at school, then everyone is losing out. I am happy to be at the hub of this challenge.

What are the main challenges facing NEWB at present?
We are currently reviewing our “every school day counts” strategy and I am greatly encouraged by the engagement and feedback from partners and staff. Continuing to build a national service and providing a timely response to children with attendance issues is a challenge for us. However, the ongoing work at streamlining the various programmes and services will, I believe, produce better outcomes for more children in the future.

Are you satisfied with what NEWB has achieved since it was instituted?
Yes – school attendance is now a recognised measurable that contributes to good educational outcomes for all children. The spirit of the Education (Welfare) Act has been bought into in a very positive way by parents and teachers and this augurs very well for attendance at school and participation in education.

Established in 2002, NEWB now has just over 100 staff and provides a service from 30 centres nationally. Our Educational Welfare Officers work closely with schools in following up on individual children who are reported as having attendance difficulties. Each year, we work with about 10,000 children and we have registered 500 children who are being educated outside of school, e.g. in the home. Where required, we take action through the courts to require a parent to have their child attend school. We also operate an Education Helpline for parents and schools on attendance issues.

We have published research on the Irish experience of non attendance at school. Earlier this year, we issued comprehensive guidelines to schools on the development of schools policies on student behaviour which have been positively acknowledged by teachers and principals generally.

What one outcome would you most wish to achieve in your work?
From personal experience, I recognise the power of education to bring about positive change in the lives of individuals and their families. I would therefore be happy if my epitaph read like: “He did the State some service and was a positive force for change in the lives of children and families and colleagues alike.”

How has the recent Budget affected NEWB?
Like most public service bodies, NEWB’s budget is being restricted and this presents a challenge in terms of our ability to respond to children who have educational welfare difficulties.

What does a typical workday involve?
Public service depends upon a lot of people working together to build a shared view of the world and to use resources in a joined up way to meet the needs of others. So a typical day involves meetings with colleagues, the NEWB Board, Department of Education officials, national bodies and agencies of various kinds and, of course, Oireachtas Committees and Ministers. The education environment is a well organised network of policy makers, organisations, managers and practitioners, so advice and support are never short. There is also a lot of reading and keeping up to be done with developments in education and children’s services generally. I don’t do a lot of travel though I like to meet and chat with educational welfare officers in their own environment. Occasionally, I get to meet the media and sometimes I do get time to think as well.

What do you enjoy most about your work?
The opportunity to build and create something that will be a lasting force for change in the lives of children and families.

What do you like least about your work?
Change takes time and this can be a cause of frustration.

What is the best thing that happened to you in the past year?
Gazing into the Trevi Fountain in Rome on an autumn evening.

Are you a workaholic?
I strive for perfection (I hear a distant yawn!) in what I do and that takes time and commitment. I’m fortunate that I am surrounded by good people who apply themselves equally and that eases the chase.
My family no doubt have a view that may differ slightly from mine.

What do you do to chill out?
I like sport, particularly Gaelic sports. Both my sons Emmet and Gavin have me watching foreign games on Saturday evenings in the winter time but that is okay because these games are now played in Croke Park. I like travel, reading and music too. I’m also known to cook, though not for a living.

Do you like living in Dublin?
I live in Athlone though no doubt my family think I live elsewhere. I work in Dublin and it is a lovely city with much to offer. I prefer the north side – it has the leading national sports stadium and better shops!

What plans have you for the future?
I would like to write at some stage though I m not sure about whom or what. I would also like to travel and impress my wife Pat with nice wine and great wisdom.

Have you a pet hate?
Yes - hypocrisy!

Have you a role model?
I recently read Brian Keenan’s “Evil Cradling”, an account of his years in captivity, and have heard various interviews with him over the years.  He has unveiled his truth for all.  I admire how he has made his journey in life without bitterness and with great spirituality.

What in the world would you most like to change?
Poverty in a world of plenty though I recognise that not all poverty is material.

Have you a message for teachers?
I’m reminded of Bryan McMahon’s short story of a substitute teacher who comes to work in a dark insular valley where newcomers remain outsiders and education has its place and purpose. The lady teacher tries for weeks to find the key to unleashing the children’s imagination but all to no avail. One day, by which time she had given up trying, she begins telling the story of Oisin and Na Fianna and then she has her eureka moment of discovery - she has the children’s complete attention. She has found the key and she knows that the lives of those children will never be the same again. She has helped them discover something within themselves that no one can ever take from them.

This story I think illustrates the power of a teacher to change children’s lives.

Have you a message for Government?
Yes – we can!!