Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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Since January 2021 Tusla Education Support Services (TESS) is under the remit of my Department.

TESS operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three strands namely the Statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS) and the two school support services the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) and the School Completion Programme (SCP). The three TESS strands work together collaboratively with schools, families and other relevant services to achieve the best educational outcomes for children and young people. All three strands share the same national outcomes:

• Improved Attendance
• Improved Participation
• Improved Retention

The EWS deal with children and families who have difficulties in relation to school attendance, participation and retention. This is a statutory service and its primary role is to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a certain minimum education, to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education.

Under the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, primary and post-primary schools are obliged by law to submit an Annual Attendance Report (AAR) to TESS on the levels of school attendance each year. This data is collated by TESS and analysed to provide information which can be used by TESS to monitor non-attendance, expulsion, and suspensions in all primary and post-primary schools at national level.

Student Absence Reports (SAR) are submitted to TESS by schools twice each year on those students with serious attendance issues that have been identified during the school year. Students that have been absent from school for a cumulative total of twenty days or more are reported. However, if a school principal has a specific concern in relation to a pupil’s non-school attendance, they can submit a referral to TESS at any time.

TESS publishes the analysis of school attendance data on its website at Research and StatisticsTusla - Child and Family Agency.