Home Works – Study on Educational Needs of Children in Homelessness

Home Works Study on the Educational Needs of Children Experiencing Homelessness – Full Report

Home Works – A Study on Educational Needs of Children Experiencing Homelessness and Living in Emergency Accommodation

‘Home Works’ is our report on the educational needs of children experiencing homelessness and living in emergency accommodation. There are nearly 4,000 children who are homeless in Ireland right now in the midst of a national housing emergency. report is the very first of its kind, looking at the educational impacts of homelessness on children. It was carried out for the Children’s Rights Alliance by Dr. Geraldine Scanlon and Grainne McKenna of Dublin City University (DCU) Institute of Education.
Read the main documents here: 

You can read the Full Report here.

You can read an Executive Summary here.

A Selection of Stories from parents detailing their personal experience of parenting amid the stress, sadness and isolation resulting from homelessness is available here.

An Overview of the Researchers Findings given by the report authors at the launch can be found here.

The Children’s Rights Alliance commissioned this research with the support of The Community Foundation for Ireland, on foot of concerns from our members about the detrimental impact of homelessness on children’s education.

Findings were that children’s basic needs for nutrition, adequate rest and good health are simply not being met in homeless accommodation. The children featured experienced frequent school absences due to poor diet, inadequate rest and poor living conditions. All aspects of their educational experience are grossly impacted upon because of homelessness.

It was also found that schools are a place of sanctuary for children providing a stability and consistency that is otherwise absent in a child’s life. Yet, sometimes, educational professionals say they feel helpless and badly need more resources to help them to cope.

There is much to be done by government and our report contains a number of recommendations. This includes a call for a ring-fenced fund for schools to provide for the needs of children experiencing homelessness, including psychological assessment and support, extracurricular activities, homework clubs, additional tuition, or wrap-around services delivered within the school premises. We will continue to engage with politicians and decision-makers to make change for children in homelessness.