Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 570: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the steps she has taken to improve school attendance at both primary and second level; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5289/07]

Bernard Durkan (Kildare North, Fine Gael)
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Question 589: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the extent to which the National Education Welfare Board's dealing with absenteeism and early school leaving is working on addressing the needs of children and young people; the number of staff on a county basis; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [5459/07]

Brian Lenihan Jnr (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 570 and 589 together.

This government is determined to do all that is possible to ensure that every child gets all the opportunities and support they need to enable them to achieve their full potential and participate fully in education.

Steps designed to improve school attendance include the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board in 2002, under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, with a remit to monitor school attendance, help parents to get a school place for their child and run promotional campaigns on the importance of attendance and finishing school. The Act provides a comprehensive framework promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving.

I am pleased to advise the Deputy that my Department's Estimates for 2007 include a provision of €9.8 million for the National Educational Welfare Board. This represents an increase of 20% on the 2006 allocation and of 50% on the 2004 level. This substantial increase in funding is a clear indication of this Government's commitment to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk. The increase in funding for the Board will allow it to expand its services further and increase staffing.

The Board operates through 5 regional teams, with bases in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford. A service is provided from 26 locations nationwide. Staff are deployed in areas of greatest disadvantage and in areas designated under the Government's RAPID programme. In addition, the Board follows up on urgent cases nationally where children are not currently receiving an education. Educational Welfare Officers monitor school attendance and work to improve it. They also help parents that are experiencing a difficulty with getting a school place for their child.

In keeping with the government commitment under the terms of the partnership agreement "Towards 2016", my Department will be increasing the authorised staffing complement of the Board in 2007.

Under the 1st Phase of the agreement, an additional 15 staff will be allocated to the NEWB this year. Since January 2004, 20,000 cases involving students with reported school attendance difficulties have been dealt with by the Board. The NEWB has also written to every family with children of school going age advising them of their rights and responsibilities in relation to education and school attendance and where they can get help.

Under the terms of the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, one of the functions of the Board is to conduct and commission research into the reasons for non-attendance on the part of students and into the strategies and programmes designed to prevent it. Ongoing activities of the Board include the development of a Code of Behaviour and Attendance Strategies for Schools. One research project currently underway will inform guidelines for schools on developing strategies on attendance and these will include the issue of truancy.

The first national data on school attendance has also been collected and is being used to inform the Board's work. In relation to the effectiveness of the service, it is encouraging to note research findings that attendance at school in the areas where EWOs are working intensively improved in 2004/05 compared with the previous year.

So, while the NEWB was set up just three years ago, a lot has already been achieved by the service and the Government is committed to strengthening its role even further.

It should, however, be remembered that the Board is just one aspect of the comprehensive framework that this Government has put in place to improve school attendance and encourage more young people to finish school. In this regard, extra supports targeted at young people in disadvantaged areas include both educational initiatives such as intensive literacy programmes and services such as breakfast clubs and homework clubs.

Enhancing attendance, progression, retention and attainment are central to DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the action plan for educational inclusion, which is being implemented at present in 873 schools comprising 670 primary schools (338 urban/town schools and 332 rural schools) and 203 second-level schools. A key objective of this action plan is to enhance integration and partnership working, both within the education sector itself and between all other relevant Government departments, agencies, organisations and groups. Under DEIS, my Department, through the network of ten regional offices is enhancing its capacity to work in partnership with locally based agencies and individuals promoting social inclusion measures.

Measures under DEIS range from pre-school interventions, supports for tackling children's literacy problems, reduced pupil teacher ratios, increased capitation grants, measures to tackle attendance and early school leaving and strengthen ties between the school, the family and the community.

A key component of my Department's strategy to discriminate positively in favour of children and young people who are at risk of early school leaving is the School Completion Programme. This programme was implemented to directly target those in danger of dropping out of the education system and in line with current thinking favours an integrated cross-community and cross-sectoral approach based on the development of local strategies to ensure maximum participation levels in the education process. It entails targeting individual young people aged 4-18, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in education access, participation and outcomes.

In early 2006, I announced an implementation strategy following publication of "School Matters" the Report of the Task Force on Student Behaviour in Second Level Schools, and that strategy is now well advanced.

At the core of the recommendations of the Task Force was the putting in place of a National Behaviour Support Service (NBSS). This has now happened with the appointment of a National Co-ordinator and four Assistant National Co-ordinators. In addition, nine Regional Development Officers and twenty part-time Associates have been recruited to ensure the success of this significant initiative. A key feature of the composition of the National Behaviour Support Service is the assignment to it of a senior psychologist and three psychologists. These have been seconded from the National Educational Psychological Service and their presence will ensure that the team operates in a multi-disciplinary way.

Since their appointment, the team has been working on a number of key issues:

1. The development of a Draft National Framework for Behaviour Improvement.

2. The development of models of good practice for systems in schools which assist with and impact on classroom and whole school behaviour.

3. On-going training for the NBSS team.

4. Research into and communication with behaviour support systems in other jurisdictions.

In fact, in addition to the NEWB, there are currently some 490 staff within the education sector with a role in school attendance. Home School Community Liaison Coordinators, in working with parents, promote school attendance and its importance for success in school. School attendance is a central objective of School Completion Programme with attendance tracking a core feature and one of its preventative strategies. Access to these services is being increased under DEIS. My Department is anxious to ensure that the maximum benefit is derived from these substantial personnel resources. Consequently work is ongoing to develop appropriate protocols for all agencies and services to work together in collaboration and to ensure that optimum use is made of the resources deployed including NEWB resources.

In relation to the deputy's specific question regarding the number of service delivery staff deployed on a county basis, I wish to stress that the NEWB, is an independent statutory agency established under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the deployment of staff is an operational matter for the Board to determine.