Written answers

Tuesday, 2 May 2017

Department of Education and Skills

Educational Disadvantage

Photo of Jack ChambersJack Chambers (Dublin West, Fianna Fail)
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382. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if a DEIS band school (details supplied) will have exclusive access to a full-time home school community liaison teacher; if his attention has been drawn to the fact that the school has had no contact from his Department since the matter was first raised, despite his response to a previous parliamentary question to the effect that departmental officials have been engaging with the school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [20556/17]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that, arising from his previous question on behalf of this school, officials of my Department wrote to the school in question on the 27th April last regarding this matter.

The school has been advised that it is not proposed to make any amendment to the existing level of HSCL supports allocated for the 2017/2018 school year pending the outcome of an updating of the new DEIS identification model to reflect 2016 National Census data and 2016/17 school data from my Department's online pupil database. The school in question will continue to receive shared access, along with its junior school, to a HSCL teacher for the 2017/2018 school year.

This will be followed by a further assessment of all schools in autumn 2017 which will provide the basis for the future allocation of resources to schools, including HSCL services.

The Deputy may also wish to note that there are a number of specific actions relating to the HSCL Scheme, and to future arrangements for the clustering of schools to receive such resources in the new DEIS Plan which I launched earlier this year. Work on implementing these actions is being taken forward by my Department together with the Child and Family Agency Tusla which has responsibility for the management of the HSCL scheme, and our education partners including schools.

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