Written answers

Tuesday, 27 November 2007

Department of Education and Science

Educational Disadvantage

8:00 pm

Photo of Joe McHughJoe McHugh (Donegal North East, Fine Gael)
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Question 506: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her plans to provide extra funding to initiatives such as homework clubs which are providing invaluable help to persons with literacy difficulties; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [30802/07]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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In the region of €730 million will be spent by my Department this year on tackling educational disadvantage at all levels – from pre-school to further and higher education. This represents an increase of over 60% and is testament to the Government's determination to prioritise social inclusion and ensure that all our children and young people get the supports they need to do well at school. Social inclusion measures across all Government Departments have also been prioritised under the Towards 2016 agreement, the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion 2007-16 and the National Development Plan.

One of the high-level goals under the new National Development Plan 2007-13, is to reduce the proportion of pupils with serious literacy difficulties in primary schools serving disadvantaged communities from the current level of 27-30% to less than 15% by 2016.

To achieve this goal significant resources to address literacy and numeracy difficulties in schools serving disadvantaged communities are being provided through DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion. These measures include a maximum class size of 20:1 in junior classes and 24:1 in senior classes in the 194 urban/town primary schools serving the most disadvantaged communities and increased access to literacy and numeracy support services and programmes for all urban/town primary schools. Additional literacy and numeracy tutors are being recruited to provide in-school support and guidance to all teachers in these schools.

In addition, training in "Reading Recovery", "First Steps" and "Maths Recovery" are being made available to all urban/town primary schools. The Junior Certificate School Programme's Demonstration Library Project is also being extended on a phased basis to second-level schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage. Extra resources will also be made available for intensive professional development programmes for principals and teachers in DEIS schools. A new Family Literacy Project is also being implemented. Finally, the School Development Planning service will support schools in developing their plans and policies for teaching literacy and numeracy and in setting measurable targets for the reduction of serious literacy and numeracy difficulties.

Financial supports allocated to each of the schools selected under DEIS provides for the inclusion of after school and holiday time support – for literacy and numeracy development as well as homework support, social and personal development and arts activities. After-school activities are delivered as part of the School Completion Programme and homework clubs in particular are a widely implemented support to provide students with a structured environment to complete homework. After-School Supports provided under the School Completion Programme focus on the personal and social development of young people, aiming to enrich their overall educational experience by providing fun activities that tap into the many talents of young people. Programmes that focus on activities like Drama, Music, Art, Craftwork and Sport enable children to develop a range of creative and sporting skills. These activities help to boost self-esteem, have positive consequences for the classroom and are particularly important for academically weaker students.

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