Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire (Cork South-Central, Sinn Fein)
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373. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of a secondary school place for a child (details supplied) in County Cork. [56482/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Tusla Education Support Service (TESS), which includes the statutory Educational Welfare Service (EWS), is under the remit of my department since 2021 and operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention.

The primary role of the EWS 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.

Educational welfare officers (EWOs) are based throughout the country and will work in a welfare orientated approach with children, young people and their families who are experiencing difficulty with school attendance. This is done through, home visits, educational welfare conferences and collaboratively working with different agencies. The main priority of the work is around the educational welfare of children and young people and to ensure that concerns around attendance are addressed before attendance becomes a crisis issue.

My Department has been advised by TESS, that this is an open allocated case with the EWS and an EWO has been in contact with the parents of the young person referred to by the Deputy. This young person has a school place in a post-primary school, but I am informed that the family are unhappy with same and is seeking a place in another school.

If someone wishes to speak to a member of the Tusla Education Support Service about a referral, they can call the Educational Welfare Service in their region, contact details can be found here:

www.tusla.ie/services/educational-welfare-services/educational-welfare-service-contacts/