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

I thank the Senator for raising this important issue.

The school completion programme aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to improve the school attendance, participation and retention of its target cohort. It is a targeted intervention aimed at school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills DEIS action plan. 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 throughout the country who have been 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 holiday periods.

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 the agency allocated €24.756 million and a similar allocation is being made for 2015. There are two projects in County Clare - the Ennis school completion programme, with an allocation in the 2014-15 academic year of €255,947, and the Kilrush school completion programme, with an allocation of €119,978. The Ennis project involves four primary and two post-primary schools, while the Kilrush project involves one primary and one post-primary school. The agency asked chairpersons of local management committees to prepare their school retention plans for the 2015-2016 school year based on the expenditure allocated last year and to return them to the agency by last Friday, 5 June. Following receipt of these plans, all school completion projects including the two in County Clare will be notified of their allocations for the 2015-2016 school year.

The Senator may be aware that a review of the school completion programme by the ESRI is almost complete. The review is an important initiative in regard to planning for the future development of the school completion programme. The review will assist in identifying the reforms necessary to consolidate the programme on a sustainable footing for the future. The review is being overseen by a steering committee involving officials of the Child and Family Agency, my Department and the Department of Education and Skills.

The review will, among other things, examine the school completion programme structures and their fitness for purpose to support an integrated approach to address early school leaving. It will analyse the interventions provided and make recommendations for evidence informed supports designed to secure the best educational outcomes for young people. The Minister for Education and Skills recently published an evaluation of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, programme, which was also prepared by the ESRI, and which refers to the school completion programme as an integral support within DEIS in improving attendance and engagement in education.

The report is almost finalised and it is expected it will be available in the coming weeks.

I have advised the agency of my commitment to ensuring that there is no diminution in the school completion programme services. The school completion programme is an important service within the agency's educational welfare services. It is highly regarded as a key response in securing improved educational outcomes for children and young people at risk of early school leaving. I am pleased to confirm for the Senator that there will be no cuts to the programme.