Vol. 495 No. 1
379 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the fact that St. Bernadette's junior national school, Dublin 22, has again been unsuccessful in obtaining the services of a home school liaison teacher (details supplied) despite the fact that the school has long been designated as serving a disadvantaged area; the criteria for assessing the applications for home school liaison teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19719/98]
423 Mr. Lawlor asked the Minister for Education and Science his views on the fact that St. Bernadette's junior national school (details supplied) has again been unsuccessful in obtaining the services of a home school liaison teacher despite the fact that the school has long been designated as serving a disadvantaged area; if he will clarify the criteria for assessing the applications for home school liaison teachers; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19580/98]
The school in question, in common with the majority of schools in the scheme, already has the services of a home-school community liaison co-ordinator on a shared basis.
The basis for the allocation of a home-school community liaison post is that each co-ordinator would serve approximately 500 to 700 pupils. Frequently, this involves the clustering of two or more schools, sometimes on the same campus, as in the case of the school referred to by the Deputy. The home-school community liaison service currently in place in the school in question is considered appropriate for the needs of the pupils.
Schools selected for inclusion in the home-school community liaison scheme serve areas where there are concentrations of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
I can assure the Deputy that the needs of the school in question will be fully considered in the context of any future expansion of the home-school community liaison scheme.
