Written answers

Tuesday, 20 June 2017

Department of Education and Skills

School Excellence Fund

Photo of Thomas ByrneThomas Byrne (Meath East, Fianna Fail)
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490. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on whether the objectives and modus operandi of the schools excellence fund as described in the response to Parliamentary Question No. 155 of 3 May 2017 appears to be identical to those of the school completion programme which budget has been decimated since 2012 and which the ESRI review report of the programme identified very significant effects of budget reductions on targeted interventions such as the provision of summer programmes for at risk children; and the rationale for cutting the school completion programme while introducing another funding programme with the same objectives and same modus operandi of the SCP. [27194/17]

Photo of Richard BrutonRichard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that the School Completion Programme and the School Excellence Fund are two entirely separate interventions and, while both form part of DEIS Plan 2017, they focus on different objectives. 

The School Completion Programme (SCP) is a service for schools in the context of DEIS the core aim of which is to increase the numbers of young people staying in school and in doing so improve the numbers of pupils who successfully complete Senior Cycle, or equivalent.  The SCP, including its funding, comes within the policy remit of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.Further information on the SCP is available on the website fo the Programme's service provider, Tusla, at the following link: http://www.tusla.ie/services/educational-welfare-services/school-support-services-under-the-deis-initiative/school-completion-programme. 

A key element of DEIS Plan 2017 is its focus on a pilot approach to identifying and supporting effective interventions, and exploring how these and further creativity around teaching and learning can make better use of the resources available to schools to achieve good educational outcomes.

To make this happen, DEIS Plan 2017 sets out the arrangements for the establishment of a School Excellence Fundto encourage schools to adopt more creative and innovative approaches to tackling educational disadvantage.

It is intended that he Fund will be trialled in a first group of schools during the coming school year, with priority being given to proposals from schools serving the most disadvantaged communities in inner city areas.

Areas of activity to be considered for piloting include:

- Encouraging strategic clustering and networking of schools in acutely disadvantaged areas;

- Leveraging evidence informed good practice in meeting the needs of students at risk of educational disadvantage;

- Enhancing school leadership and better equipping teachers to meet the needs of their pupils;

- Improving parental engagement and participation in student learning

- Supporting transitions across the education continuum.

Implementation of the SEF will be overseen by the Inspectorate and Social Inclusion Unit of my Department and evaluation will take place as part of the DEIS Monitoring and Evaluation Framework. 

The establishment of the School Excellence Fund fulfills an important Programme for Government commitment aimed at promoting excellence and innovation in the school system.

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