Calls for €25m funding for school officers

THE Government has been urged to spend €25 million next year to recruit 148 school attendance staff whose work will help save hundreds of millions of euro in later years.

The National Educational Welfare Board (NEWB) was set up 18 months ago and will require a staff of 330 to operate fully. It asked for €13m in last year’s estimates to begin recruiting Education Welfare Officers (EWOs).

However, with the 5.4m allocated to it, the board could only employ 70 officers this summer. With an additional 148 staff next year, the board would be able to reach 600,000 (85%) of school-aged children.

The EWOs’ work will be to monitor regular non-attendance and encourage parents to keep their children in school. Those requiring these services are vulnerable, having disabilities or special education needs, are homeless or coming from families with little or no tradition in education.

Each year, 15% of young people leave school without the Leaving Certificate and 3% finish school with no qualification.

Annually, up to 1,000 children do not make the transition from primary to second-level schools.

In its budget submission to Education Minister Noel Dempsey, the NEWB stressed a ‘save now, pay later’ policy will not work. It said studies have shown that investment in educational help for children at most risk can save millions in the long term.

“Unemployment will be reduced and money will be saved on areas such as crime, housing and health, not to mention the fact that so many more children can benefit from having a full education, something we can not put a price-tag on,” said NEWB chief executive Eddie Ward.

Last night a spokesperson for the minister could not make any comment on the NEWB’s funding demands, except to say they would be considered as part of their submission before next month’s Book of Estimates.

An ESRI report this year said annual savings of €14m on unemployment and crime could be made if young people were prevented from leaving school before their Junior Certificate.