Written answers

Tuesday, 8 July 2014

Department of Children and Youth Affairs

School Completion Programme

Photo of Billy KelleherBilly Kelleher (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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857. To ask the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs if a programme (details supplied) in County Cork will experience a cut to its budget for the next school year; if so the amount of same; the way this programme is expected to continue with its invaluable service to students with reduced resources; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [29384/14]

Photo of Charles FlanaganCharles Flanagan (Laois-Offaly, Fine Gael)
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The School Completion Programme (SCP) aims to retain young people in the formal education system to completion of senior cycle and to generally improve the school attendance, participation and retention of its target cohort. The SCP is a targeted intervention aimed at those school communities identified through the Department of Education and Skills’ DEIS Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. It involves 124 locally managed projects, including Le Chéile SCP, and related initiatives operating across 470 primary and 224 post-primary schools to provide targeted supports to approximately 36,000 children and young people. The programme's project model approach gives local communities the autonomy to devise innovative approaches to address the needs of young people most at risk of early school leaving.

Since its establishment, the Child and Family Agency has operational responsibility for the School Completion Programme, including the allocation of funds to projects within the programme. As with all major spending programmes, the School Completion Programme budget was subject to examination under the terms of the 2011 Comprehensive Review of Expenditure (CRE). This process identified a requirement for savings of 6.5% per annum across the programme over the period 2012 to 2014. In 2014, €24.456m has been made available to the Agency for the programme. The potential for any changes in the funding allocated to this programme in future years is a matter to be considered in the estimates and budgetary process having regard to the resources available to Government.

I am advised that proposals are in process of being formulated by the Agency in relation to the funding for SCP projects in the coming 2014/2015 academic year, based on Retention Plans submitted to the Agency by SCP Projects for the next cycle of the programme within the available funding parameters notified to projects. As with all 124 projects, and in line with CRE requirements, Le Chéile SCP, which involves 1 post-primary and 4 primary schools, has been requested to plan for a reduction of 6.5% on its 2013/14 allocated budget of €264,426. The Agency will continue to work closely with the Local Management Committee, schools and local SCP co-ordinator to assist the project in this process.

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