Written answer
Departmental Schemes
Schools were reassessed using current data for 2026/27; further HSCL expansion is planned, with funding targeted under development and future allocations subject to resources.
103. Deputy Barry Ward asked the Minister for Education and Youth the position regarding any review or reassessment available for four schools in the Dún Laoghaire constituency in relation to their allocation under the Home School Community Liaison Programme; and her views on whether their current assessment is acceptable in the context of significant increases in school population and a shift in demographics since this allocation was last assessed. [73606/26]
Comment on this
Addressing educational disadvantage in all schools is a key priority for the Department of Education and Youth.
The HSCL scheme is a core element of the DEIS programme and forms part of the wider Tusla Education Support Service (TESS). HSCL coordinators work directly with parents/guardians, school staff and relevant community services to strengthen engagement between home, school and the wider community, with the aim of improving attendance, participation and retention for children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.
As part of the development of the DEIS Strategy to 2035, all schools qualifying for HSCL support were recently reassessed using the most up-to-date data available to the department. This reassessment informed HSCL allocations for the 2026/27 school year.
The DEIS Strategy to 2035, under Strategic Objective 2.2, sets out actions to develop an agile resource allocation model to support children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage in all primary and post-primary schools. These actions focus on the continued enhancement of the data available to measure school level disadvantage and for the development of a more flexible resource allocation model that can react to change in school needs and provide the right resources at the right time.
Budget 2027 provides an additional €3 million from September 2027, rising to €9 million on a full-year basis from September 2028, to support a targeted expansion of the HSCL scheme for children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage. A detailed approach on the targeting of this additional funding is currently being developed.
Any future additional allocation of resources under the DEIS programme will be considered over the lifetime of the DEIS Strategy to 2035 and in the context of available resources.