IPPN

Published: 09 March 2009

Source: Fine Gael

One in five disadvantaged schools that were previously provided with a Home School/Community Liaison teacher have been told that they are having their teacher removed this coming September according to new figures provided to Fine Gael Education Spokesman, Brian Hayes TD.


The Home School/Community Liaison (HS/CL) Scheme is provided to disadvantaged schools and is aimed at improving the lives of disadvantaged students by providing a link between parents, teachers and the students themselves. 278 primary and 188 secondary schools used to avail of the scheme but, as Minister Batt O'Keeffe admitted to Brian Hayes (see PQ at end), 93 of these schools will see the HS/CL Scheme withdrawn in September.


"School drop-outs will increase because of this move and Ireland's ability to climb out of recession will be severely hindered. Principals all over the country have informed me that the loss of HS/CL posts will have a detrimental effect on their ability to keep children in school.


"I also believe it is an outrage that the 20 primary school and 73 post-primary schools which will lose this service have still not been informed by the Department of Education about the impending withdrawal of these posts.


"While I recognise that savings in the public purse have to be made, the HS/CL Scheme is a vital tool in the fight against educational disadvantage and the cost savings in withdrawing it will end up costing the Exchequer a lot more in the long-run.


"Batt O'Keeffe and his Government must realise that, to pull ourselves out of recession, we need to keep children from disadvantaged backgrounds in school, get them into college and begin constructing a viable 'knowledge economy'. This means that cutting HS/CL Schemes for the 20% of schools in receipt of them is counter-productive and can only deepen the recession.


"Fianna Fáil and Batt O'Keeffe have shown a lack of leadership and lack of vision when it comes to digging Ireland out of the hole they got us into. Instead of attacking frontline services, class sizes and lower to middle income workers, a more viable solution would have been to follow Fine Gael's plans and focus on reforming the tax system and cutting public sector costs through public sector pay freezes and non-essential redundancies.


"Targeting the most disadvantaged is not the way forward and will do little to plug the hole in the Exchequer finances. In fact, it will make a bad situation worse."
Ends

Note: Parliamentary Question from Brian Hayes TD to the Minister for Education & Science follows:
Chun an Aire Oideachais agus Eolaíoctha
To the Minister for Education and Science
To ask the Minister for Education and Science if he will re-consider the loss of the home school community liaison teacher from September 2009 to those schools in the post-primary and primary sector which were originally included in the disadvantaged area scheme but were subsequently not included in the delivering equality in schools scheme, but retained resources under the DAS scheme; the number of schools in this category which are expected to lose a home school liaison teacher; if, in view of the small number of schools in question, he will reconsider his proposal in this area given the impact of this decision for these schools; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
- Brian Hayes.

* For WRITTEN answer on Tuesday, 3rd February, 2009.
Reference Number: 3451/09
Freagra
Minister of State, Seán Haughey
Following the introduction of DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion, a commitment was given, as a concessionary measure to Non DEIS schools in receipt of resources under pre-existing schemes, that they would retain a level of support in line with their size and disadvantage levels for the duration of the DEIS Initiative.
Given the current volatile and challenging economic climate, difficult choices had to be made in order to contain public sector spending. One of these decisions is the withdrawal of disadvantaged area scheme posts, Home School Community Liaision posts and additional financial resources from all Non DEIS schools with effect from 31 August 2009. The main focus of Social Inclusion measures is to retain resources in schools participating in DEIS, as there is a need to focus targeted resources on the schools serving the most disadvantaged communities. This approach is in line with the broad thrust of the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General which are set out in his report on Primary Disadvantatage of 2006, which recommended that my Department should focus its educational disadvantage measures on those schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.
From September 2009 some 62 Home School Community Liaision posts, currently serving 20 primary and 73 post primary schools will be withdrawn. These schools were judged by an independent identification process in 2005 not to have a sufficient level of disadvantage among their pupils to warrant their inclusion in DEIS.
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