Educational Gaps and the risk of Longterm Unemployment and Homelessness

Peter McVerry Trust and DCU recently conducted a research study of 51 young homeless men’s experiences of the education system in an effort to understand and improve young people’s educational experiences and reduce the risks of homelessness in the future.

Following the study they have produced a fantastic report called Educational Gaps and Future Solutions, which sets out seven key recommendations.

Key findings included:

- A significant deterioration in the interviewees’ experiences of education following their transition from primary to secondary school.

- Rates of suspension and expulsion from school significantly higher than the national average, with 55% of participants having experienced reduced access to education via suspension, rolling suspension or expulsion.

- 68% indicated that they had experienced ‘traumatic childhood events’.

- 79% of participants interested in further education or training.

Sarah Murphy, lead author and Research Associate with the Educational Disadvantage Centre, DCU Institute of Education, said: “This report reveals a range of preventable system failures in the Irish education system that are still ongoing today. These failures increase the risk of exclusion from the system and participation in society with knock-on impacts that heighten the risks of homelessness.

The seven key recommendations of this report are as follows;

To provide a distinct funding strand for adequate emotional counselling and/or therapeutic supports in and around schools to support children and young people experiencing trauma and adverse childhood experiences to support the mental health needs of these vulnerable students.

To provide additional Multidisciplinary Team Supports in and around schools to provide alternatives to suspension and expulsion.

To provide and lead a strategic commitment to enhanced focus on conflict resolution skills for secondary teaching in Initial Teacher Education and continuing professional development to upskill schools in responding to children’s social, emotional and behavioural needs.

To establish a distinct funding strand to develop Community Lifelong Learning Centres, integrated with Multidisciplinary Teams as onestop-shops for meeting diverse holistic educational needs, including for young people at risk of, or experiencing homelessness.

To establish an Interdepartmental National Expert Advisory Group to develop a National Strategic Action Plan for meeting the holistic educational needs of children and young people in care.

To explore ways of providing accommodation for young men which address the heterogeneity of this group and is conducive to studying and maintaining employment, as well as the provision of education and training opportunities where appropriate.

To increase focus on Social, Personal, Health Education (SPHE), in particular social and emotional development education, meaningful drug education and life skills.

To explore ways of providing accommodation for young men which address the heterogeneity of this group and is conducive to studying and maintaining employment, as well as the provision of education and training opportunities where appropriate.

More about the Peter McVerry Trust

Apart from running many homeless services the Peter McVerry has a number of training initiatives for young people, In 2019 Peter McVerry Trust took on the operations of the Carline Learning Centre in Clondalkin, West Dublin. This centre works with around 30 young people each academic year to support them to obtain their Junior Certificate. The vast majority of these young people have been excluded from mainstream school systems.

In Moyross, Limerick, Peter McVerry Trust funds the Moyross Youth Academy to offer carpentry courses for long term unemployed young people from the area. The funding is provided for a woodwork tutor and Peter McVerry Trust buys the furniture made by the young people for use across their social housing units.

The Peter McVerry Trust works with and provides funding to the Belvedere Youth Club in Dublin 1. The funding is focused on the provision of an IT education project for young people who access the youth club’s services and who come from the immediate environs of Dublin’s north inner city.

As part of their work to support young people in the education system, Peter McVerry Trust is currently funding trauma counselling sessions for students at two schools in Dublin. This counselling was developed as a homelessness prevention measure as these schools had seen high number of past pupils access their homeless services.

In conjunction with the National Adult Literacy Agency (NALA), the Trust also provides an online learning platform which offers a flexible, accessible and cost-effective means of learning and accreditation at QQI Levels 2 & 3. This platform is called writeon.ie.

Peter McVerry Trust currently offers NALA’s online education platform across their Supported Temporary Accommodation Services, Family Hubs and Housing with Support Services, throughout the four Dublin Local Authority areas, Louth, Limerick and Kildare.

Through their ongoing engagement with schools in Dublin we are funding a breakfast club at a DEIS school in Dublin. This ensures that children attending that school start the day with a nutritious and proper breakfast.

The Peter McVerry Trust is currently bringing forward a number of employment activation programmes for people in homeless and housing services. These programmes are located in Dublin, Kildare and Limerick. The programmes will aid people’s ability to secure and retain employment in areas such as construction, hospitality and tourism, IT and retail.

Read more about Peter McVerry Trust and the full report HERE