Ms Cliodhna O'Neill:

The SCP funding, like everything, is subject to budgetary negotiation but certainly it is a key priority for the Minister with regard to social inclusion and it is our intention, budget considerations notwithstanding, to continue to provide funding in respect of the school completion programme and to allow those programmes continue with the very important breakfast clubs and other initiatives. There is a lot of autonomy at local level for those programmes to determine what the funding will be spent on, but it is certainly our intention to continue that.

The Deputy had a query regarding mental health supports and the teaching in that space. None of us here are curricular experts, but we know from out colleagues on the curriculum side that there has been particular emphasis in the social, personal and health education, SPHE, programmes in respect of awareness and support in that space and within the whole school framework. I mentioned the well-being framework. The entire approach for a school in creating and nurturing a supportive environment though the well-being framework is one of the things the inspectorate looks at. There has been an immense amount of support and focus on that over previous years. Again, we are very conscious of that through the strategies. With the Traveller forum, one of the things we will be doing, some of which we have already done, is ensuring our colleagues at the National Education Psychological Service, NEPS, is working very closely with the Traveller forum to make sure the well-being approach is well understood and that Traveller culture and identity informs practice in schools in that space.