Mary Upton (Dublin South Central, Labour)
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Question 466: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the links between recognised youth clubs and her Department; her views on whether school children could benefit from better integration between local youth clubs and local schools; the steps her Department has taken to establish closer links between youth clubs and schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30561/07]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The Youth Affairs Section of my Department supports a number of schemes and initiatives which provide non-formal educational opportunities for young people throughout the country through voluntary participation in youth work. This support consists mainly of grant-in-aid assistance for national and major regional youth work organisations under the Youth Service Grant Scheme, targeted youth work responses for young people through the Special Projects for Youth Scheme and support for youth clubs and groups at a local level through the Local Youth Club Grant Scheme. In addition, my Department has secured additional funding in 2007 from the Dormant Accounts Fund (Economic and Social Disadvantage Funding Measures) for small scale equipment grants for local youth groups/clubs. This Scheme complements my Department's existing Local Youth Club Grant Scheme.

Links between youth clubs and youth work projects and schools are generally forged at local level and these relationships are seen as positive by schools and youth clubs/projects alike.

Youth Officers have been assigned to the VEC sector to carry out the functions set out for VECs under the Youth Work Act, 2001. These Youth Officers are currently liaising locally with relevant organisations and clubs and this process will help to put in place a local framework that will facilitate inter alia the coordination of youth work services with other education programmes.

A key objective of DEIS, the new Action Plan for educational inclusion, is to enhance integration and partnership working, both within the education sector itself and between my Department, education agencies and providers and all other Government departments, agencies, organisations and groups. Specific actions to be taken in relation to the integration of services and partnership working include increased alignment of the Youth sector measures with actions being taken by schools and school clusters/communities participating in DEIS to tackle early school leaving.

The School Completion Programme (SCP), which is a key initiative under DEIS, aims to have a significant positive impact on levels of pupil retention in primary and second level schools and on the numbers of pupils who successfully complete the Senior Cycle, or equivalent. SCP is based on the concept of integrated services. Effective supports must include multi-faceted actions that respond to young people's needs. They need to be both preventative and supportive, ranging from social and personal development to After school and Out-of-School supports, including sport and leisure activities as well as supports that target the young person's home and community life. SCP is a collaborative programme where schools work in partnership with family, community, youth, and sporting organisations and with relevant national statutory and voluntary bodies, including Local Youth services that play a key role and in some areas provides breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday supports.