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

I thank the Deputies for raising this issue. I can assure them that the Minister of State, Deputy Jimmy Deenihan, and Deputy Brendan Griffin do not let the opportunity slip by to remind me about the importance of the school completion programme. I am pleased that everyone agrees that the programme operates very well and has been very successful. All of the statistics support that conclusion.

The school completion programme aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and improve the school attendance, participation and retention of its target cohort. It is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the DEIS action plan of the Department of Education and Skills. It involves 124 projects and related initiatives operating in 470 primary and 224 post-primary schools. These projects provide a range of supports and interventions designed to support approximately 36,000 children identified by local management committees as being at risk of educational disadvantage. Typically, projects offer homework clubs, breakfast clubs, mentoring programmes, learning support, social and personal development programmes, out of school supports, including music, art and sports, and a range of activities during school holidays.

Since 1 January 2014, the Child and Family Agency has operational responsibility for the school completion programme, including the allocation of funds to local projects. In 2014 an allocation of €24.756 million was provided for the programme. The agency has indicated a similar allocation for the programme in 2015. It has approved local projects' school retention plans for the 2014-15 academic year. The first two instalments of 2014-15 funding have issued to local projects, with a third instalment planned for May.

The school completion project in the area mentioned by the Deputies comprises three primary and four post-primary schools. I am advised that an amount of €181,959 was allocated by the agency to the project for the school year 2014-15. The amount provided for the 2014-15 period takes account of the savings requirements in the comprehensive review of expenditure 2012-14.

The allocation of funding across the range of interventions planned for young people and between the local schools and the school completion project for the area is a matter for the local management committee.

The Deputies may be aware that a review of the school completion programme by the ESRI is almost complete. The review is an important initiative in planning the programme's future development. It will assist in identifying the reforms necessary to consolidate the programme on a sustainable footing and is being overseen by a steering committee involving officials from the Child and Family Agency, my Department and the Department of Education and Skills. Among other matters, the review will examine the school completion programme's structures and their fitness for purpose to support an integrated approach to addressing early school leaving. It will analyse the interventions provided and make recommendations on evidence-informed supports designed to secure the best educational outcomes for young children. It is envisaged that the review's final report will be delivered shortly.

Recently, the Minister for Education and Skills published an evaluation of Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, which was prepared by the ESRI and referred to the school completion programme as an integral support within DEIS for improving attendance and engagement in education.

I have advised the agency of my commitment to ensuring that there is no diminution of the school completion programme, which is an important element of the agency's educational welfare services. It is highly regarded as a key response in securing improved educational outcomes for young people at risk of early school leaving.

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