Teachers who want troublesome pupils to be psychologically assessed do not understand the purpose of such assessments, a parents' group has said.
The National Parents Council - Primary, which held its annual conference at the weekend, criticised calls from teacher representatives for the right to demand psychological assessments of pupils with discipline problems.
"Such calls, apart from the obvious human rights implication, not be tolerated by NPC."
Ms Kilfeather was addressing some 200 delegates at the conference in Limerick. "Schools need to look at their own behaviour. The climate and culture of the school has a powerful influence on a young person's motivation."
She said it was imperative that all partners were included in any Whole School Evaluation scheme. "No organisation can measure the quality of its service by asking the providers alone. It is indisputable that the quality of the individual teacher, as well as overall school atmosphere, has close links with the children's happiness, learning and behaviour."
The conference also heard about the growing concern among parents about the safety of their children. Calling for a register of convicted paedophiles and sex offenders - already promised by the Minister for Justice, Mr O'Donoghue, - Ms Cathy Kenna, a delegate from Dublin South said: "The only crime that can be kept in confidence is one against our children. Parents have the best interests of children at heart. We are not vigilantes; it is our duty to protect the innocent, not the guilty."
Ms Dympna Joyce, a Mayo delegate, said communities must be safe for children. "Protecting our children requires an inter-agency response. Paedophiles must not be allowed to work with children and parents should be informed if a paedophile lives in their area. We must ensure a crackdown on child pornography and paedophilia."
The conference also passed a motion calling for adequate support and counselling for children who are victims of trauma, bullying, corporal punishment and psychological abuse at school.
The theme of this year's conference was literacy, with emphasis on the parents' role in their children's literacy skills.
In his keynote speech, Mr Eugene Wall, of the University of Limerick, said: "There is an impressive body of research evidence linking parental involvement in the home with academic success and, more specifically, with children's literacy development."
He said factors which could prevent adult literacy problems included early intervention. "The longer that intervention is delayed the greater the risk of literacy difficulties persisting into adulthood."
Mr Willie O'Dea, the Minister of State for Education, has called on publishers to consider dividing large school books into smaller volumes to allow for lighter schoolbags.