Home School Community Liaison

The Home School Community Liaison Scheme was established in 1990 with the appointment of 30 teachers as liaison co-ordinators in 55 primary schools

in large designated areas of urban disadvantage. In 1991 the scheme was extended to 13 second level schools.

In 2008 /2009 St.Paul’s Secondary School was included in this very successful scheme. The HSCL coordinator in the school is Paul Marron

who is a teacher in the school since 1996. Paul can be contacted at 0858400666 or by email at p.marron@stpaulsmonasterevin.ie

THE AIMS OF THE LIAISON SCHEME ARE:

(i) To maximise active participation of the children in the scheme schools in the learning process, in particular those who might be at risk of failure.

(ii) To promote active co-operation between home, school and relevant community agencies in promoting the educational interests of the children.

(iii) To raise awareness in parents of their own capacities to enhance their children's educational progress and to assist them in developing

relevant skills.

(iv) To enhance the children's uptake from education, their retention in the educational system, their continuation to post-compulsory

education and to third level and their attitudes to life-long learning and

(v) To disseminate the positive outcomes of the scheme throughout the school system generally.

The Home School Community Liaison Scheme is a preventative strategy which is targeted at pupils who are at risk of not reaching their potential

in the educational system because of background characteristics which tend to affect adversely pupil attainment and school retention.

The scheme is concerned with establishing partnership and collaboration between parents and teachers in the interests of children's learning.

It focuses directly on the salient adults in children's educational lives and seeks indirect benefits for the children themselves.