James Reilly (Dublin North, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Deputy for raising this question. I wish to confirm that we are very serious about this matter. The aims of the school completion programme are to help young people stay in the formal education system until they complete senior cycle, as well as generally improving their school attendance and participation in education. The programme is a targeted intervention for schools identified through the DEIS action plan for educational inclusion of the Department of Education and Skills.

The school completion programme involves 124 locally managed projects and related initiatives, operating across 470 primary schools and 224 post-primary schools. It provides targeted supports to some 36,000 children and young people who may be at risk of educational disadvantage.

Every project in the school completion programme is managed and directed by a local management committee, which includes representatives of schools, parents and other education stakeholders in the locality.

The programme's project model approach gives local communities the autonomy they need to devise creative and innovative approaches to effectively address the needs of young people most at risk of early school leaving. Projects provide a range of targeted supports, including homework clubs, breakfast clubs, mentoring programmes, learning support, and social and personal development programmes for young people. In addition, a number of out-of-school supports including music, art and sports are provided, as well as a range of activities during holiday periods.

As with all major spending programmes, the school completion programme budget was examined in the context of the 2011 comprehensive review of expenditure. This process identified a requirement for savings of 6.5% per annum across the programme over the period 2012 to 2014. In 2014, an allocation of €24.76 million has been provided for the programme.

Since its establishment at the beginning of this year, the Child and Family Agency, Tusla, has operational responsibility for the school completion programme, including allocating funds to projects within the programme. This process requires local projects to develop annual school retention plans, with detailed service proposals for the forthcoming school year.

Allocations to projects are determined on the basis of these school retention plans, while having regard to the savings requirements set out in the 201 I comprehensive review of expenditure. I am advised that the agency has completed the detailed process of evaluating and approving the school retention plans prepared by individual projects for 2014-15 and that the first instalment of funding under the programme issued to projects in the first week of September. Further instalments will issue in December 2014 and May/June 2015.

The Child and Family Agency will continue to work closely with local management committees, schools and local school completion programme co-ordinators to assist projects through the process. The potential for any changes in the funding allocated to this programme in future years is a matter to be considered in the Estimates and budgetary process, and the resources available to Government.

The Deputy may be aware that a review of the school completion programme is currently under way, which is an important initiative in relation to the future development of the programme. The objectives of the review are to identify best practice in providing support to children and young people to stay in school; clarify the roles and responsibilities of those involved in the programme; and build upon the valuable learning and experience acquired to date.

It is envisaged that this work will be completed during the 2014-15 academic year. The review should help to identify any reforms that are needed to put the programme on a sustainable footing for the future. Most importantly, the findings of the review will be critical to ensuring that funding is directed to those services that provide the greatest contribution to better outcomes and brighter futures for vulnerable children and young people who are at risk of educational disadvantage.

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