List of Local Supports

In addition to the supports available below, there is an online Children and Young People’s Services (CYPSC) Directory for Dublin. It centralises information on supports and services for children, young people, families and support services in the greater Dublin area. The directory aims to provide up-to-date information on services operating in the whole of the county of Dublin. Services can be identified through accessible search tools including by category, area or on a map of services.

School Completion Programme

The School Completion Programme (SCP) is one of the three services of Tusla Education Support Services – SCP, Home School Community Liaison (HSCL), and Educational Welfare Services (EWS). SCP provides an integrated response to child educational welfare, supporting through targeted interventions those who are most at risk of leaving school early and those of school-going age who are not in school. The desired impact of the SCP is the retention of 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. Children and young people are referred to SCP through the SCP Intake Framework.

Jigsaw

Jigsaw is a youth mental health service offering brief 1-1 interventions for young people with mild to moderate presenting issues between the ages of 12 and 25 years of age. Jigsaw also offers workshops in the community, schools, and local clubs, giving families, educators, and those who support young people’s mental health ways to cope and the skills to be there for young people.

Support and information regarding school avoidance can be found on the Jigsaw website Understanding School Avoidance | Advice for Parents | Jigsaw.ie

Foróige

Tallaght Youth Service was established by Foróige in 1982. Foróige offers a broad range of universal and targeted programmes for young people aged between 10 and 24 years in Tallaght and across Dublin South. Targeted Youth Work services support young people in dealing with issues associated with school avoidance and school refusal.

For a list of Foróige services in Dublin 24 please click here:

Tusla Educational Support Services (TESS)

The aims and objectives of TESS are to ensure that every child either attends school regularly or otherwise receives a minimum education, to ensure and secure every child’s entitlement to education. TESS is a statutory service. TESS has three different strands of work: SCP, EWS, and the HSCL scheme.

The EWS works with children, young people and their families who are experiencing difficulty with school attendance. This is done through home visits, educational welfare conferences, and collaboratively working with different agencies. The main priority of the work is around the welfare of children and young people and ensuring that concerns around attendance are addressed before attendance becomes a crisis issue. 

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS)

Lucena CAMHS (part of St John of God Community Services) provides specialist assessment and treatment to young people up to age 18 who are experiencing mental health difficulties in the moderate to severe range. This is provided by a multidisciplinary team led by a consultant psychiatrist and including psychiatry, psychology, social work, nursing, speech and language, occupational therapy, and social care disciplines. As CAMHS is the second tier of the range of mental health services, young people should have accessed mental health services at the primary care level before presenting to CAMHS unless they are acutely unwell or their symptoms have progressed rapidly and require an assessment from a CAMHS service.

Crosscare Traveller Youth Service Tallaght

Tallaght Travellers Youth Service (TTYS) provides Travellers with educational support and training to remain in the education system while valuing their ethnic identity and distinct culture. The service is based in community centres and halting sites, working directly with young Travellers and their families.

National Educational Psychology Service (NEPS)

The National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS) is the psychological service of the Department of Education and provides educational psychological support to primary, post-primary, and special schools in Ireland. Each psychologist is assigned to a group of schools. The NEPS Model of Service includes a Casework Service for individual children and young people and a Support and Development Service for school staff.

NEPS have several guidance documents for schools and parents for school avoidance available here.

Citywise

Citywise Education provides young people with after-school and out-of-school educational support, often urgently needed by those growing up in difficult or hostile city environments. Citywise’s educational programmes raise the sights of young people, give them an enthusiasm for learning and open up possibilities for further education.

YoDA: Youth Drug and Alcohol Service

YoDA is the Youth Drug and Alcohol Service based in Tallaght. YoDA provides assistance and treatment to under 18s who are having problems related to their drug or alcohol use. YoDA provides expert treatment based on the individual needs of the service user.