Brian Hayes (Dublin South West, Fine Gael)
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Question 321: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of children under the age of 16 who are currently not in receipt of full-time education; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [35865/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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The first national data on school attendance was collected for the 2003/2004 school year. Attendance data relating to the 2005/06 school year is currently being analysed by the NEWB. The findings from the 2004/05 analysis, which are consistent with the findings for the previous year, indicate that approximately 84,000 children under the age of 16 miss more than 20 days each year. The explanation for the absences are for a variety of reasons ranging from unexplained absence to explained absence such as ill health.

On average the Board estimates that it works with 10,000 cases per annum involving students with reported school attendance difficulties. The findings from the analysis of the Annual Attendance Reports continues to inform the work of the Board. It is encouraging to note that in relation to the effectiveness of the service, research findings show that attendance at school in the areas where EWOs are working intensively improved by 4% in 2004/05 compared with the previous year.

I have been informed that since January 2007, the Board has worked on 8381 cases involving children who are experiencing difficulty with school attendance. 4358 of these cases are now closed and 4023 are still ongoing.

My Department has adopted a broad-based approach to tackling early school leaving. We established the National Educational Welfare Board to monitor attendance and help to get young people back to school. The Board runs promotional campaigns on the importance of attendance and finishing school and provides a service locally through its Education Welfare Officers to parents, children and schools. It is encouraging to note research findings that attendance at school in the areas where EWOs are working intensively improved by 4% in 2004/05 compared with the previous year.

My Department is also currently implementing DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) an action plan for educational inclusion. DEIS is an integrated educational inclusion strategy developed for 3-18 year olds and represents a shift in emphasis away from individual initiatives, each addressing particular problems to a multifaceted and more integrated approach.

In addition to the NEWB there are some 620 staff, within the education sector, deployed in education disadvantage programmes of which over 130 are additional posts allocated under DEIS. The School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) are preventative measures designed to combat issues of poor attendance and early school leaving. Children at risk of early school leaving are targeted under the School Completion Programme for a variety of extra supports aimed at encouraging them to stay in school. The supports cover both educational and non-educational interventions and are provided during and outside of school time. The Home School Community Liaison Scheme works to involve parents in their children's education which is a crucial component in convincing young people of the value of education.

Other measures facilitated through the DEIS action plan include extending access to Schools' Business Partnerships, school meals, guidance counselling and student councils. Increased integration is also being promoted between the work of second-level schools and centres catering for young early school leavers, particularly Youthreach centres and Senior Traveller Training centres.

The range of curricula available to students has also been extended to include the Junior Certificate Schools Programme, the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme and the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme. These options provide an alternative for many children who might otherwise opt out of formal education at an early stage.

This Government has shown a sustained commitment to providing greater opportunities in the further education sector by supporting second chance educational opportunities for young people who leave school. Many of these young people take up places in Youthreach centres, while others pursue options such as FÁS apprenticeships. In line with the commitment in Towards 2016 we have already created 400 of the additional 1000 Youthreach places to be put in place by 2009.

Through increased investment and improved services this government is determined to optimise access, participation and educational outcomes at every level of the system and will continue 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 potential and participate fully in education.