Including All: Home, School and Community United in Education

There is no 'quick fix' solution to remedying deep-lying problems, but the enlightened, patient and sustained approach, which registers more in the hearts and personalities of those touched by the project than in media headlines, is the way forward. Professor John Coolahan Children's experiences in the school system have major repercussions for their life chances. We owe it to all our children to educate them to their full potential. But education is still not a level playing field - even in modern Ireland many children are still marginalised and failing educationally. lncluding All examines educational disadvantage within the framework of socio-economic disadvantage and considers its consequences for the child, the family and the community. It shows how a multi-agency approach - a partnership between parents, schools and community agencies can ease the effects of disadvantage, foster links of positive relationship, empower disadvantaged parents and begin to break the cycle of poverty. lncluding All provides us with the first authoritative and comprehensive account of one of the most significant interventions that has been made to tackle disadvantage - the Home/School/Community/liaison Scheme, which began as a pilot scheme in 1990. Concepta Conaty has been with the project from the beginning and has played a major role in its implementation and development. This work is a comprehensive evaluation by a highly qualified practitioner-researcher, and of immense interest and value to all those who care about the quality, inclusiveness and future of Irish education.