Ministers O’Gorman and Foley welcome Government Decision to Draft the Child and Family Agency (Amendment) Bill

The Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth Roderic O’Gorman TD has received the approval of government for the drafting of the General Scheme and Heads of Bill proposing legislative amendments to the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, following the transfer of education welfare functions from the Minister for Children, Equality, Integration, Disability and Youth to the Minister for Education.

Tusla will continue to deliver the services which encompass Tusla’s Education Support Service (TESS), comprising of three strands: the Educational Welfare Service, the School Completion Programme (SCP) and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), as well as Tusla’s Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service (AEARS) which carries out the functions specified for the Educational Welfare Service in section 14 of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000.

Minister O’ Gorman said:

"Having education welfare services under the remit of the Minister for Education, whilst part of Tusla’s full structure of integrated services, provides a wide range of expertise and supports that can be accessed to meet the presenting needs of children and families who are referred to educational welfare services. I look forward to continued collaboration between my Department and the Department of Education to support Tusla in their work to achieve the best outcomes for vulnerable children and families in the future.'

Minister for Education Norma Foley TD said:

“Tusla supports schools and families by emphasising the importance of and promoting school attendance, participation and retention. Tusla plays a vital role, working collaboratively with schools, students, families, community organisations, and other relevant services to achieve the best educational outcomes for our children and young people.

“This work is essential and is a key component of ensuring strong school attendance at all levels and in particular in supporting the strong retention rates for our students, giving our children and young people the best possible opportunities. The transfer of education welfare functions provides a renewed opportunity for services in this area and for greater integration between the educational welfare functions of Tusla and the wider suite of education agencies and supports including the National Council for Special Education (NCSE) and the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS).”

Notes for the Editors

Background

In 2011 functions vested in the Minister for Education by or under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 were transferred to the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. At that time, the functions transferred also included the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) scheme and the School Completion Programme (SCP).

At the time of the 2011 transfer, the functions under section 10 of the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 were performed by the National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB). The NEWB was subsequently dissolved in 2013 and the functions under section 10 of the 2000 Act were transferred to the Child and Family Agency (Tusla) upon its establishment. The relevant functions under the Act are currently carried out by two distinct service areas within Tusla – Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) and the Alternative Education Assessment and Regulation Service (AEARS).

In June 2020, the Taoiseach announced in the context of the formation of the new Government that educational welfare services would transfer from the Minister for Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth to the Minister for Education.

Under the Education Welfare (Transfer of Departmental Administration and Ministerial Functions) Order 2020 (S.I. 588 of 2020) the functions vested in the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth in relation to education welfare functions transferred to the Minister for Education with effect from 1 January 2021.

The functions transferred continue to operate under Tusla.

Tusla is an agency under the remit of the Minister for Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth and the Child and Family Agency Act (2013) currently sets out the powers of the Minister in that regard. The changes proposed will provide for oversight and policy direction by the Minister for Education in respect of educational welfare functions.

DEIS Programme and Tusla Funding

DEIS – Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools is the main policy initiative of the Department of Education to address educational disadvantage at school level.

The renewed DEIS Plan published in 2017 sets out the vision for future interventions in the critical area of educational disadvantage policy and builds on what has already been achieved by schools who have benefitted from the additional supports available under the initial DEIS programme introduced in 2005

In the 2020/21 academic year there are 887 schools in the DEIS Programme serving over 185,000 pupils - 689 primary and 198 post-primary.

The total Department spend on DEIS in 2021 is over €150 million, which includes over €26 million for the School Completion Programme. In addition, the Department of Education will provide in excess of €10 million to Tusla in 2021 to meet the costs of the statutory Educational Welfare Service and the Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service.

Tusla Education Support Service (TESS)

TESS operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three strands, namely the Statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS) and the two school support services the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP). The HSCL scheme and SCP programme are two key supports under the DEIS programme.

The proposed amendments to the Child and Family Agency Act 2013 will provide the Minister for Education with a direct line for policy direction and oversight of Tusla in respect of the education welfare functions transferred. Tusla will continue to provide the operational management and delivery of the services. The three TESS strands work together collaboratively with schools, families and other relevant services to achieve the best educational outcomes for children and young people.

Educational Welfare Service (EWS): deals with children and families who have difficulties in relation to school attendance, participation, retention. The service works collaboratively with schools and other relevant services to secure better educational outcomes for children and young people. The aims and objectives of this statutory service are to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a minimum education; to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education. Educational welfare officers work with families and children in a child-centred way to overcome barriers to their school attendance, participation and retention; and work closely with schools, educational support services and other agencies to support school attendance and resolve attendance problems for the benefit of children and families.
School Completion Programme (SCP): is a targeted programme of 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 an alternative learning site (for example, . Youthreach, Community Training Centre etc.) or employment. It aims to retain a young person to completion of the Leaving Certificate, equivalent qualification or suitable level of educational attainment which enables them to transition into further education, training or employment.
Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL): seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services. A HSCL coordinator is a teacher from a participating school/s who is released from teaching duties, for a maximum of five years, in order to work intensively with and support parents/guardians. The overarching goal of the HSCL coordinator is to improve educational outcomes for children through their work with the key adults in the child’s life. Home Visits are the primary point of contact for HSCL coordinators, as this is where strong relationships are built with parents/guardians. In addition, HSCL coordinators organise parent classes in the relevant school/s and provide information and guidance to parents/guardians with regard to accessing community-based programmes and supports. The scheme also supports families as their children transition from early education to primary school, from primary school to post-primary school and finally from post-primary school to further and higher education, training or employment.

AEARS: The Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service

Section 10 of the Education Act 1998 provides the Minister for Education with the power to designate a school or a proposed school to be a school recognised for the purposes of the Act, upon a request being made for that purpose by the patron, and where the Minister is satisfied that certain criteria have been met as set out in the Act. Under the Education Act the Minister may also designate a place to be a centre for education.

The Irish Constitution acknowledges the role of a parent/guardian as the primary educator of the child and has enshrined in law that a parent/guardian may home educate a child or may choose to send their child to a non-recognised school.

The Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service (AEARS) of Tusla has responsibility for maintaining the register of those children who are being educated outside of a recognised school. Under Section 14 (1) of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, parents or guardians who elect to educate their children at home or whose children attend a non-recognised school or - must apply to have their child’s name entered onto the register. As soon as practicable after an application is received by the Alternative Education Assessment and Registration Service, an assessment is carried out to determine whether the proposed provision is of a certain minimum level of education.

ENDS

Issued by the Press and Communications Office at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Tel: 01 647 - 3153/3114

Email: media@equality.gov.ie