Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 21 June 2022
547. Deputy Réada Cronin asked the Minister for Education the number of children with special education needs who have been referred to Tusla for so-called school refusal in each of the past five years and to date in 2022, in tabular form; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [31910/22]
Amharc ar fhreagraTusla Education Support Service (TESS) employs Educational Welfare Officers throughout the country to provide support, guidance and advice to all schools and parents with regard to school attendance issues. All referrals to TESS are screened and prioritised for intervention by an Educational Welfare Officer (EWO). While referrals are primarily received from schools, parents and other professionals can also make a referral. The Educational Welfare service provides a service to all children, and does not specifically collate school refusal information for children with special education needs.
TESS Educational Welfare Officers take a supportive welfare-based approach working with families and children in a child-centred way to overcome barriers to their school attendance, participation, and retention. They work closely with schools, educational support services and other agencies to support school attendance, this is done through home visits, educational welfare conferences and collaboratively working with different agencies. The main priority is to identify effective interventions and supports which will promote the engagement, attendance, and retention of the child/young person in school and to ensure their right to an education is protected.
The National Council for Special Education was set up to improve the delivery of education services to persons with special educational needs arising from disabilities with particular emphasis on children. The NCSE performs a number of roles in our educational system and key amongst these are the provision of supports to our schools to promote a continuum of educational provision, so as to ensure that what is delivered is inclusive and meets the needs of students with special educational needs. The NCSE plays a critical role in ensuring that policy and provision develops and evolves, so that students with special educational needs are helped to perform to their potential and achieve good education and life outcome.
In addition, the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) provides a comprehensive, school-based psychological service to all primary and post primary schools through the application of psychological theory and practice to support the wellbeing, academic, social and emotional development of all learners. NEPS provides a casework service to schools through the assigned NEPS psychologist. NEPS provides support for students at risk of educational disadvantage and those with special educational needs. NEPS supports the promotion of the wellbeing and good mental health for all students in schools.
NEPS engage with reluctant attendance and emotional based school avoidance through their casework service, working with children and young people, parents/guardians and school staff. School refusal is a complex issue that often requires an integrated response from schools, parents, education partners (including TESS), and occasionally from other agencies in the child and family support sphere including the NCSE and the HSE.
NEPS have developed a resource for parents/guardians and for school staff on Managing Reluctant Attendance & School Avoidance Behaviour which is available on the gov.ie website.
