Mr. Noel Kelly:

The biggest challenge when we started was that we were so different from what was happening in schools. We were this small group of people who were not actually in a classroom teaching. It was quite a challenge to convince colleagues that we were actually doing a real job because people had this impression that one was drinking tea with parents all the time. It took a while to establish oneself. Building a profile in the community I found was the first challenge. One had to become known in the community, be visible around the community and be accepted in the community because back in the early 1990s, communities such as Darndale, which were quite new, were very suspicious of people in authority. The initial assumption was that we were social workers and that we were there to spy on families and to interfere in the family home and get information. Building comfort and assuring people that one was there to support them and not to obstruct or interfere was very important.

At present, the scheme is widely accepted because we now have 416 people. Over 27 years, many people who have been through the scheme are now school principals or are back in the classroom, or, like myself and Ms Tobin, have gone on to do other things. The scheme is very well received. Recently, I attended a European Union seminar at which representatives of the European Union's countries were impressed with this concept where teachers were released from the classroom to work in the community. We are unique in that. The scheme has gone from strength to strength and is an extremely effective scheme. It is also staffed by really positive people, as the committee has gathered from our colleagues here, who are enthused about the work and who bring energy to their work every day. It is fantastic that we have the five-year rotation, even though there may be objections to it. The more teachers who experience this, the more those teachers learn about what is happening for families and the more realistic they become in their expectations.

Certainly, the first message I brought back to teachers in my school was to not start the day demanding homework from kids who come from really challenging homes because straightaway one is setting up conflict. One should welcome in the children and do positive things to make them feel at home in school, rather than creating a problem before they even get in the door. It is about enabling people to understand what is going on and enabling people to understand the reality of family life.