Jonathan O'Brien (Cork North Central, Sinn Fein)
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177. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs to set out the supports provided by the National Educational Welfare Board to Traveller students. [20494/14]

Frances Fitzgerald (Dublin Mid West, Fine Gael)
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As the Deputy may be aware the functions and operational responsibilities of the former National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) are now part of the new Child and Family Agency, which was established on 1 January 2014. Since this date the staff of the former NEWB, including its Educational Welfare Officers, have transferred to the new Agency.

Under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, the Child and Family Agency is obliged to ensure that ‘each child attends a recognised school or otherwise receives a certain minimum education’. Through the work of its educational welfare officers (EWOs), the Agency responds to instances where children, including children from the Traveller community, are not attending school regularly, leading to concerns for their educational welfare. While EWOs have a number of statutory powers in relation to school attendance, much of their work involves early prevention and targeted intervention with children and families, in collaboration with schools and other support services. In that regard, the needs of Traveller students are fully considered.

Through its Educational Welfare Services, the Agency also has operational responsibility for the two components of the School Support Programme under the DEIS initiative supporting approximately 700 designated schools serving socially and educationally disadvantaged communities. The Home-School-Community Liaison scheme targets children at risk of not reaching their potential in the educational system because of family-based issues which adversely affect engagement in school, pupil attainment and retention. It focuses directly on the significant adults in children’s lives, works in an enabling way with parents to develop their capacity as a key resource in their children’s learning and seeks direct benefits for the children themselves. Children and families from the Traveller community can be identified by HSCL for additional supports.

The School Completion Programme works directly with targeted students at risk of early school leaving through a range of in-school, after-school and holiday period interventions designed to retain them in the formal education system to completion of post-primary senior cycle, as well as addressing the needs of students who are out of school. In particular, Traveller students participate in SCP homework clubs which may be organised within Traveller sites and in collaboration with local youth services or Traveller organisations. SCP data estimate that approximately 11% of students participating in the Programme were identified as Travellers.

The Agency participates in the Traveller Education Strategy Advisory and Consultative Forum under the auspices of the Department of Education and Skills to monitor implementation of this key policy framework for Traveller Education with the objective of improving educational outcomes for Traveller children. The Agency representative has convened a working group within the Forum to develop collaborative relationships and working protocols between Educational Welfare Services and Traveller support organisations.

The development by the Agency’s Educational Welfare Services of an integrated intervention model around school attendance, participation and retention issues generally will be a significant vehicle by which the needs of Traveller children and families can be addressed in collaboration with schools and other support services.