Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 508: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her views on the appointment of a home-school liaison co-ordinator for each of the two schools (details supplied) in Dublin 8; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [6555/08]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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A total of 450 local HSCL coordinators provide HSCL services to 691 schools (370 Primary and 281 Post primary), with an additional 80 posts made available in 2006 to extend Home School Community Liaison services to all schools selected to participate in DEIS, the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, that did not have such services. I also extended my commitment to schools not selected to participate in DEIS but already in HSCL scheme, to continue to support these schools in their efforts to deal with educational disadvantage among their students in line with both their size and level of disadvantage.

HSCL coordinator posts are provided on a full time or shared basis between schools and must be deployed to do full-time liaison duties. For the first time, posts are shared across the two sectors — primary & post primary level, to facilitate local HSCL coordinators working with the families of disadvantaged children. My Department is currently undertaking a full review of Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) clustering arrangements in all schools participating in the scheme to ensure that all schools have a level of service which commensurates with both the size of the school as well as its relative level of disadvantage. Any changes made in the HSCL clustering arrangements, which will take effect from 1 September 2008, will be notified to schools shortly.