Eric Byrne (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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240. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if she will have her Department officials call to the yellow flag school (details supplied) with a view to assisting four schools on this campus to address the attendance records and participation by students from the adjoining Labre Park Travellers' site; if she will agree to cooperate with the schools in attempting to improve the attendance of these students; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [24533/13]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB), which operates under the auspices of my Department, has a statutory remit to ensure that 'each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education'. In particular, the NEWB has a key role to respond to instances where children are not attending school regularly, or where there is concern about a child's educational welfare. Supporting and promoting attendance, participation and retention are the core responsibilities of all staff and services working within the remit of the NEWB. The Board works closely with families and schools, and other agencies and services where appropriate, to ensure children have the benefit of professional collaboration and coordination in meeting their needs.

The Education Welfare Service, and its network of Education Welfare Officers (EWOs), is a key resource for the Board in delivering on its statutory remit. EWOs have the statutory authority to enter schools during a school day to inspect the attendance records of a school.

The Deputy may wish to note that the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 obliges schools to record and monitor attendances and to report absences to the EWO in specific circumstances; such as where a child is absent for 20 days or more, where a child is expelled or suspended for six days or more cumulatively, or where the principal of a school has concerns about the educational welfare of a child. I am advised by the NEWB that cases where there are significant concerns about any child's attendance at school, or where a child is identified as “at-risk” of persistent poor attendance or early school leaving, then these cases are prioritised by the Board. Accordingly, I will refer the matters raised by the Deputy to the NEWB for its appropriate attention.

The NEWB also has strategic and operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme within its remit to deliver an integrated continuum of educational welfare services. The identified schools as well as others serving the children of Labre Park Travellers' Site receive support through projects of the School Completion Programme. The SCP projects support children identified by the Local Management Committees through the provision of a range of supports and interventions designed to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to generally improve their school attendance, participation and retention.

The NEWB participates on the Traveller Education Strategy Advisory and Consultative Forum, which is chaired by the Department of Education and Skills. The objective of the forum is to monitor implementation of the Traveller Education Strategy and to support traveller parents in their responsibilities to ensure their children remain in school and to develop mechanisms to improve educational outcomes for traveller children.

The NEWB has made significant progress towards delivering an integrated school support service on the principle of “One Child, One Team, One Plan". This streamlined national approach to education support services will enhance the Board's support to schools, children and their families.