Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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689. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will request a review of a current home school community liaison scheme allocation (detail supplied); if this issue can be urgently addressed; if her Department can engage with the school management directly; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38634/23]

Steven Matthews (Wicklow, Green Party)
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690. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the position regarding the review of the home school liaison system initiated by her Department; the timeline for its completion; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38635/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 689 and 690 together.

Currently, all DEIS Urban Primary and Post Primary schools are included in the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), which serves 687 DEIS schools. The scheme is delivered by 528 full-time HSCL Coordinators, who are teachers in these schools and assigned to HSCL duties either in individual schools or in clusters of schools, catering for approximately 207,000 pupils.

The HSCL scheme seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services, with a view to supporting improved attendance, participation and retention.

The HSCL scheme is one of a suite of initiatives funded by my Department as part of the overall DEIS programme and Tusla Education Support Services (TESS) manages the scheme on behalf of my Department.

Tusla Education Support Service’s (TESS) Integrated Service Manager, assigned to the area is available to assist the school in question. TESS will continue to provide support to help ensure that the allocated HSCL resource is utilised to its fullest potential in order to best support those who are most in need.

My Department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. It also recognises that we need to target resources to those schools who need them most. To support this work my Department have invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies Project to review the current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in Ireland. This review will provide an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, inform a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS. The OECD are engaging with a range of relevant stakeholders to inform the review process as well as drawing on international examples. The OECD estimates that the review will be completed in Q2 2024.

The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will look at reviewing individual resources and allocation approaches. This work will involve consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders. It will also seek to ensure that schools are supported to ensure every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.

Demographic changes to schools will be considered within this work underpinning my commitment to an effective and responsive resource allocation strategy. Following the National Census held in April 2022, it is envisaged that an updated HP Deprivation Index will be generated by Pobal and will be available in Q4 of 2023. My Department will engage with Pobal in relation to this process. The updated HP Deprivation Index, when available, will be considered by my Department to help inform future resource allocation to tackle educational disadvantage.