Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2022
556. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Education the efforts that are currently in hand to replace current vacant education welfare officer positions in County Kildare, the effect of which is detrimental to children who actively engage with the canals cluster school completion programme; when the positions will be filled; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32046/22]
View answerThe School Completion Programme (SCP) is a key component of Tusla Education Support Service (TESS). The programme is targeted to support for primary and post primary children and young people who have been identified as potentially at risk of early school leaving or who are out of school and have not successfully transferred to education outside of the school system or into employment. The Canals Cluster SCP in Co Kildare comprises 4 post-primary schools.
The Educational Welfare Service (EWS) is also part of TESS and operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, which emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. The EWS deal with children and families who have difficulties in relation to school attendance, participation, retention. This is a statutory service and its primary role is to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a certain minimum education, to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education.
In general when there is an EWO vacancy and a national panel in place, vacant positions are generally offered to those on the panel in the first instance. In the case of the post referred to by the Deputy, the established Educational Welfare Officer (EWO) national panel has now been exhausted with no candidate taking up this vacant EWO post in Co Kildare. The recruitment campaign to establish a new national EWO panel is underway and will be in place by August 2022.
In the interim, TESS management are meeting with the local school Principals and frontline staff to ensure that collaboratively all Home School Community Liaison (HSCL), SCP and EWS capacity is prioritised to provide interventions for children and young people in relation to school attendance concerns.
