Ms Kate Waterhouse:

In the past couple of years, through dormant accounts funding, the Tusla education support service has been able to provide additional and quite specific training for home school community liaison officers to support their being able to work better with Traveller and Roma parents and migrant families. They held a couple of symposiums for third and fourth year HSCLs, who got training on unconscious bias and got a chance to share skills, innovative methodologies, good practice and successful experiences they have had in maximising attendance, participation and retention. They have had motivational interview training that helped them to support vulnerable families.

They have had motivational interview training, which helps them to support vulnerable families, and they also continue to expand the My Child My Vision programme, which has a particular emphasis on group facilitation involving seldom-heard parents. In December 2023 and in February 2024, they had development days where they came together again to share good practice and their experiences of working with Traveller and Roma families, so there is that extra bit of support for HSCL co-ordinators in that context.