Emer Currie
Question:467. Deputy Emer Currie asked the Minister for Education and Youth to provide a Home School Liaison Teacher for a school (details provided); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16689/26]
View answerTuesday, 3 March 2026
Questions (467)
Written answers
My department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of my department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.
The home-school-community liaison (HSCL) scheme is one of the key supports provided as part of the overall DEIS programme. Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) manages the HSCL scheme on behalf of my department. The scheme seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services, with a view to supporting improved attendance, participation and retention.
All DEIS urban primary schools and all DEIS post-primary schools are included in the HSCL scheme, which currently serves 682 DEIS schools, catering for approximately 207,000 children and young people. The scheme is delivered by 528 full-time HSCL coordinators assigned to HSCL duties either in individual schools or in clusters of schools.
A new DEIS Strategy will be published in the coming weeks, which will include the DEIS Plus scheme. The new DEIS Strategy will focus on improving the opportunities and achievement levels of children at risk of educational disadvantage, developing more innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage, and working towards a more flexible system of supports to ensure that a school can receive the right support at the right time.
Any future allocation of overall resources will be considered over the lifetime of the new DEIS Strategy and the availability of resources.
This Government is also fully committed to supporting children with special educational needs to reach their full potential and the Programme for Government makes a number of commitments to deliver on this objective. The National Council for Special Education (NCSE) has responsibility for coordinating and advising on the education provision for children with special educational needs.
Special schools receive additional supports outside of the DEIS programme. Where children and young people require more specialised educational settings, such as special classes or special schools, the Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE ensure that the necessary resources and supports for such placements are provided in line with the needs of the child or young person.
A higher rate of capitation is paid to special schools in recognition that these schools have additional challenges when supporting their enrolled students. The Department of Education and Youth has also introduced a number of initiatives aimed at providing specific supports to special schools, such as including additional administrative deputy principal posts, additional teaching posts, dedicated National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) supports and a priority of NCSE services including in the area of behaviour and training for special schools.
The Department of Education and Youth and the NCSE are committed to delivering an education system that is of the highest quality and where every child and young person feels valued and is actively supported and nurtured to reach their full potential.