Ms Cliodhna O'Neill:

To the Deputy's point, there is a parental awareness context there too in terms of things like subject choice and being aware of routes being open. The guidance plays a really critical role there. I will ask Ms Cullen to talk a little about the DEIS planning. The Minister has indicated she wants a new DEIS plan to be published by the end of the year. In terms of the allocation of teaching posts through the DEIS programme and so on, that is really important, as is how the weighting of Traveller students is used in determining DEIS and resource allocations. We might just mention that. There is also additional capitation funding that goes with that in respect of Traveller students. The OECD report we commissioned and that was published last year in respect of resource allocation under the DEIS programme noted where schools are in DEIS and not in DEIS and that there are always students at risk of educational disadvantage attending non-DEIS schools. The question is how those students are being supported, and this is certainly something we are looking at through the new educational disadvantage plan.

The Deputy also referred to the home-school liaison officers. We have several pilot areas that are not DEIS schools but where we have put in place home-school community liaison schemes entirely due to the number of Traveller students in those schools. We think this is a really positive step forward under the plan too.

Regarding transitions, there is a transition steering group between us, the early years unit, the National Council for Special Education, SOLAS and the ETBs looking at transitions. I am not as familiar with the work, but my understanding is that the group looks at all the different levels. We will certainly be asking it to have a particular focus on Travellers. One of the things we need to do as we work through the strategy and identify new actions all the time, which is the method we are using, is to ensure we have data and research of this kind and identify where we do not have it and what we need it for.

On preschools on site, it is a model tried in a couple of places. Obviously, we do not have policy responsibility in respect of preschools, but a number of schools do have a preschool on site and there is usually a high transition rate. That is a matter for early years policy.

I am definitely not qualified to respond to the question on homework. I will have to check in with some colleagues on the curriculum side and the inspectorate side.

The Deputy also mentioned transition guidance and whether it would be worth having something similar in respect of the Traveller community. When we talked about things like the video we did for the Traveller community on the publication of the strategy, the resources and reduced school days, that is exactly the kind of thing we would like to target, namely, where we would provide easy guidance on how to move from primary school to post-primary school and how it can be done. Those kinds of things are on our agenda for really useful guides for parents on things they will find useful. The forum is the way in which we surface those things with the groups. Ms Cullen might take the question on teachers.