Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 14 July 2015
486. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will report on work completed to assure the educational welfare of primary school and secondary school pupils who are homeless. [28582/15]
View answer487. Deputy Paul Murphy asked the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if he will report on the work that will be completed to assure the educational welfare of primary school and secondary school pupils who are homeless. [28583/15]
View answerI propose to take Questions Nos. 486 and 487 together.
The Government places a high priority on combatting educational disadvantage and ensuring that each child has the opportunity to achieve his/her potential in education and learning. My Department works closely with the Department of Education and Skills and other relevant Government departments to achieve these aims.
Under the remit of my Department, Tusla, the Child and Family Agency has a statutory function to ensure that each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education. The Educational Welfare Service of the Child and Family Agency is a statutory service supporting regular school attendance for all school age children and young people. Where school attendance problems arise for a child, the Agency concentrates on finding solutions within a collaborative intervention framework involving children and their families, schools and other relevant agencies. The aim is to generally improve the school attendance, participation and retention of young people, in particular, young people who are at risk of early school leaving and educational disadvantage.
Educational Welfare Officers work with families and schools to support children who are experiencing difficulties which impact on a child's capacity to attend school. Homelessness and temporary accommodation can impact on a child's attendance and participation in school. In such cases, I am advised that, the Educational Welfare Officer draws on a range of supports including the Home School Community Liaison and the School Completion Programme to assist the child in attending school.
The School Completion Programme is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. It provides targeted supports annually to approximately 36,000 children. There are 144 local school completion projects throughout the country operating in 470 primary and 224 post primary schools.
Supports provided by local school completion programme projects including breakfast clubs, after school supports, homework clubs, summer activity projects and friendship clubs can help to support a child's participation in education and engagement in school life. Educational Welfare Officers employ these supports for the child and may seek to provide assistance with transport where this is feasible. An Educational Welfare Officer may also engage with the Family Support Worker where this is appropriate in the child's and family's particular circumstances. The objective is to work with the family and child to support continued participation in school and good educational outcomes for children.
