Minister for Education Norma Foley announced details of the 2022 Dormant Accounts Funding to provide targeted supports to tackle education disadvantages for Traveller and Roma students.
Under the 2022 Dormant Accounts Fund Action Plan, the Department of Education received
€400,000 to tackle education disadvantages for Traveller and Roma communities and to support attendance, participation and retention among Traveller and Roma learners.
Minister Foley said “I am pleased to announce that we will be able to use this funding to provide valuable new resources to support Traveller and Roma students in these post-primary schools.
“Home is the most important place in a student’s life, and the value of a home-school liaison coordinator in helping to bridge the gap and grow to understand between school and home is well proven in our schools. It is a great resource to offer to Traveller and Roma families, to work with them and with the students to achieve the students’ potential.”
Using this fund, the Department of Education will fund 10 new home-school community liaison (HSCL) coordinator posts in 14 non-DEIS post-primary schools supporting Traveller and Roma students.
Their role will be to work primarily with Traveller and Roma students to improve school attendance, participation, retention, progression and outcomes.
These HSCL coordinators will have access to funding, also from the Dormant Accounts fund, to implement and run initiatives to encourage improvements in school attendance, retention and progression for Traveller and Roma students. Funding is also being used to provide targeted support to ensure the effectiveness of the HSCL role in working with Traveller and Roma families.
The Department of Education also received €100,000 in 2022 Dormant Accounts Funding specifically to support Traveller and Roma learners as they transition from early learning and care settings to primary school, and from primary to post-primary school and onwards.
These transitions are recognised as key milestones in a student’s education continuum, and as stages that present challenges in relation to the retention and attendance of some students, in particular Traveller and Roma students.
The fund is to be delivered by Tusla Education Support Services (TESS) to provide support for Traveller and Roma learners, and their families, to ease the transition between these vital stages and encourage greater levels of school attendance, participation and retention.