Tusla Education Support Service (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 and the two school support services the Home School Community Liaison scheme and the School Completion Programme. The three TESS strands work together collaboratively with schools, parents and guardians and other relevant services to achieve the best educational outcomes for children and young people.
TESS currently provides a range of services in Cork county and city including dedicated educational welfare officers along with interventions available from School Completion Programme and the Home School Community Liaison Scheme which operates in all DEIS setting throughout the county and city. Other initiatives developed in response to concerning rates of absenteeism include:
- multimedia campaign on school attendance
- development of the Anseo framework
- TESS 5-year plan for school attendance 2023-2028
In line with the Education (Welfare) Act 2000, all primary schools, including special schools, and post primary schools must report annually on student non-attendance at an aggregated level. These reports are published and are available on the Tusla website at the following link: www.tusla.ie/services/educational-welfare-services/publications/research-and-statistics/
The report includes a summary of total days lost and 20-plus day absences for primary and post-primary schools by county, including Cork county for 2019 to 2023.
