My Department has adopted a broad-based approach to tackling the issue of school attendance. The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was established to monitor attendance and help to get young people back to school. The Board runs promotional campaigns on the importance of attendance and finishing school and provides a service locally through its Education Welfare Officers (EWOs) to parents, children and schools.
This Government is determined to do all that is possible to ensure that every child gets all the opportunities and support they need to enable them to achieve their potential and participate fully in education. The funding to the Board for 2007 amounted to €9.808 million, which represents an increase of 20% on the 2006 allocation and of 50% on the 2004 level. This substantial increase in funding is a clear indication of this Government's commitment to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk. Sanction for 15 additional staff was given in 2007 and this brings the current authorised staffing of the Board to 109 posts of which 90 are allocated to working directly in the service delivery area. The staffing complement is comprised of 19 Head Office and support staff, 5 regional managers, 13 Senior EWOs and 72 EWOs. The allocation to the NEWB will increase to €10.119 million in 2008.
In addition to the NEWB there are some 620 staff, within the education sector, deployed in education disadvantage programmes of which over 130 are additional posts allocated under DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the action plan for educational inclusion which provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) are preventative measures designed to combat issues of poor attendance and early school leaving. Children at risk of early school leaving are targeted under the School Completion Programme for a variety of extra supports aimed at encouraging them to stay in school. The supports cover both educational and non-educational interventions and are provided during and outside of school time. The Home School Community Liaison Scheme works to involve parents in their children's education which is a crucial component in convincing young people of the value of education. Consequently work is ongoing to develop appropriate protocols for all agencies and services to work together in collaboration and to ensure that optimum use is made of the resources deployed.
Through increased investment and improved services we are determined to optimise access, participation and educational outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups.
I will be keeping the issue of resources for the NEWB under review in light of the rollout of services, the scope for integrated working and any proposals that the Board may put to me in relation to clearly identified priority needs.
The National Council for Special Education (NCSE), which has been in operation since 1 January 2005 with over 90 members of staff, works exclusively in supporting students with special educational needs. The NCSE was established under the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs Act (EPSEN) 2004 to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities with particular emphasis on children. Since it was established in 2005, the NCSE has been responsible for allocating resources for children with special educational needs. The NCSE has a key role in the delivery of services and operates through a network of special educational needs organisers (SENOs) who act as a focal point of contact for schools and parents. SENOs are responsible for processing applications from schools for special needs supports and they convey decisions on the applications directly to the schools. These supports include resource teaching hours, special needs assistant (SNA) support and assistive technology and equipment. The budgetary allocation for the National Council for Special Education for 2008 is €10.832m and I am satisfied that the NCSE will be able to manage within the 2008 budgetary allocation.
Going forward, the NCSE has produced an Implementation Report regarding the Education for Persons with Special Educational Needs (EPSEN) Act, which is currently receiving detailed consideration within my Department. As part of this process, my officials have met with the education partners to obtain their views on the report and its recommendations. Arising from this process and taking account of the Council's implementation report, a Working Group in my Department has been developing proposals for the implementation of the Act and this work will be completed shortly. In this context, I am satisfied that effective progress is being made to advance development of the necessary policy and supports to enable formal commencement of the remaining provisions of the Act.