Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 417: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of places available to early school leavers in Youthreach programmes here; and the increase in places since 2006 to date in 2009. [19648/09]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

There are currently almost 6,000 places available nationally under the Youthreach umbrella. Almost 3,700 of these are funded by my Department and delivered in just over 100 centres by Vocational Education Committees (VECs). The majority of the remaining 2,300 places are funded by the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment and delivered by FÁS in Community Training Centres (CTCs). This represents an increase of 400 places over the total number of places available nationally in 2006. These additional places were funded by my Department in 2007 and were allocated to VECs.

Caoimhghín Ó Caoláin (Cavan-Monaghan, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 418: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if progress has been made in reducing the number of early school leavers; if he will state these reductions in percentages every year for the past four years; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [19649/09]

Seán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

The data sought by the Deputy will be forwarded directly to him shortly. My Department has adopted a broad-based approach to tackling early school leaving. This includes the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board, under the Education Welfare Act, 2000, to monitor attendance and help to get young people back to school. Targeted interventions include the School Completion Programme, Home School Community Liaison services, visiting teacher service, additional funding for pupils at risk of early school leaving and alternative curricular options.

Enhancing attendance, progression, retention and attainment are central elements of DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. In the current school year, €18.3m was paid in grants to schools to meet the needs of pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds under DEIS. €31 million has been allocated to the School Completion Programme which contains strategies for the whole-school, targeted strategies for individual students, and those who are already outside of the formal system. Provision includes in-school, after-school and holiday time supports to enhance the young person's readiness to benefit from education. In the region of €32 million has been allocated to Home School Community Liaison, which focuses directly on the salient adults in children's educational lives, seeking indirect benefits for the children themselves and works to involve parents in their children's education which is a crucial component in convincing young people of the value of education. HSC coordinators are assigned on a full time or shared basis between schools and are deployed to do full-time home school community liaison duties.

Progression from primary to second-level is recognised as a crucial transition period in a child's education. Under the DEIS action plan, a continuing emphasis is placed on the development of effective transfer programmes by building on the existing work of the Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme. My Department have widened the range of curricula available to students by promoting the Junior Certificate Schools Programme, the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme, and the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme in addition to the traditional Junior and Leaving Certificate curricula. In addition to the NEWB, there are currently in excess of 600 staff within the education sector working in various educational disadvantage programmes of which over 130 are additional posts allocated under DEIS.

On Monday 18 May, I announced that from the start of the next school year in September 2009, a single coordinated School Support Programme involving the Home School Community Liaison Scheme (HSCL), the School Completion Programme (SCP) and the Visiting Teachers Service for Travellers (VTST) will be integrated under the NEWB. This development will put in place structures to facilitate closer integration of the services at local, regional and national levels, increase effectiveness and help bring about real and meaningful improvements in services to confront in a cohesive way the underlying causes that impact negatively on the school life of children, particularly as they relate to school attendance, retention and attainment. I would like to assure the Deputy that we have greatly intensified our efforts in recent years to keep more young people in school and I will continue to prioritise further progress in this area.