Tusla 'can spot difference' between chronic absenteeism and pupils missing school over Covid

There has been a surge in applications for homeschooling supports in recent months

The Child and Family Agency has said it will be able to differentiate between absences from education caused by health concerns linked to Covid-19 and the sometimes chronic absenteeism which has led some parents to be prosecuted in the courts for failing to send their children to class.

As most schools return this week Tusla also said it was redeploying staff to “meet demand” when it came to providing supports for some families.

Educational Welfare Services work within Tusla to track cases of extended school absenteeism and to encourage those children and their families back into education.

However, consistent absenteeism can lead to tougher measures such as the issuing of School Attendance Notices (SANs) which can then lead to a summons to attend court and possible prosecution and conviction for the parents or guardians.

The latest public health advice is that children can attend school with a sniffle but that any high temperature, cough, shortness of breath or other symptom consistent with Covid-19 should mean a child stays at home until the presence of the coronavirus is ruled out, symptoms abate and the child is well enough to return.

A spokesperson for the Child and Family Agency said: “Tusla Education Support Service (TESS) is acutely aware that returning to school may be challenging for some students. The three TESS strands; Home School Community Liaison, School Completion Programme and Educational Welfare Service will play a critical role in supporting students and families.

“The Education (Welfare) Act obliges schools to report to Tusla children that have missed in excess of 20 school days. 

However, Tusla Education Welfare Services (TESS) will take into account the requirement for students who feel unwell with symptoms consistent with Covid-19 or who have been informed to self-isolate and not to attend school.

“TESS will work with schools, students and their parents to support them as required.” Even though schools are only returning to action now after almost six months of closure due to the pandemic, action has still been taking place with regard to school absenteeism.

Tulsa’s most recent monthly report shows that in May, 58 referrals were screened by senior educational welfare services and at that time 2,404 referrals were on a waiting list for educational welfare services — 101 (4%) fewer than April 2020 when the highest number since June 2019 (2,766) was reported.

The agency’s most recent quarterly report shows 840 new individual children worked with Tusla in the last three months of 2019 over school absenteeism, with 157 School Attendance Notices issued in the same period.

Between October and December last year 27 court summonses were issued.

According to the spokesperson for Tusla: “It’s important to note that as schools reopen, TESS services will work with all schools to provide additional supports to students and our approach with them will be entirely supportive and welfare focused.

“In order to provide these additional supports, Tusla staff from other services will be reassigned temporarily to ensure that we can meet the demand.” Among those supports is homeschooling.

"There has also been a steady rise in the number of children on the register for home education since last October and it emerged in recent days that there had been a surge in new applications for that option over the summer months.