Tusla
Tusla’s Educational Support Service (TESS) may be of assistance to Autistic students and their families.
Tusla’s Educational Support Service operates under the Education (Welfare) Act, 2000, a piece of legislation that emphasises the promotion of school attendance, participation and retention. TESS has three strands, and these three strands work together collaboratively with schools, families and other relevant services to achieve the best educational outcomes for children and young people:
Educational Welfare Service
Educational Welfare Services deal with children and families who have difficulties in relation to school attendance, participation and retention. The TESS statutory and school support services of the Child and Family Agency work collaboratively with schools and other relevant services to secure better educational outcomes for children and young people.
Home School Community Liaison Scheme
Under DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL) seeks to promote partnership between parents, teachers and community family support services. A HSCL Coordinator is a teacher from a participating school/s who is released from teaching duties, for a maximum of five years, in order to work intensively with and support parents/guardians. The overarching goal of the HSCL Coordinator is to improve educational outcomes for children through their work with the key adults in the child’s life. Home Visits are the primary point of contact for HSCL Coordinators, as this is where strong relationships are built with parents/guardians. In addition, HSCL Coordinators organise parent classes in the relevant school/s and provide information and guidance to parents/guardians with regard to accessing community based programmes and supports.
The School Completion Programme
The School Completion Programme (SCP) is a targeted programme of support for primary and post primary children and young people who have been identified as potentially at risk of early school leaving or who are out of school and have not successfully transferred to an alternative learning site (i.e. Youthreach, Community Training Centre etc.) or employment. It is a support under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme, funded by Tusla Education Support Services (TESS). SCP aims to retain a young person to completion of the leaving certificate, equivalent qualification or suitable level of educational attainment which enables them to transition into further education, training or employment.
Information for Young People in relation to TESS can be viewed at – https://www.tusla.ie/tess/information-for-young-people/
Information for Parents and Guardians in relation to TESS can be viewed at – https://www.tusla.ie/tess/information-for-parents-and-guardians-tess/
