Pádraig O'Sullivan (Cork North Central, Fianna Fail)
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201. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if there are any programmes or funding avenues available for mentorship programmes (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [49480/23]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential.

The School Completion Programme, (SCP) is funded by my Department via Tulsa’s Education Support Service (TESS) and is a central element of the DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) programme, a key policy initiative of my Department to address educational disadvantage at school level.

Nationally, TESS and SCP partner with 2 organisations that provide ways to support mentoring across different locations throughout Ireland:

Business in the Community Ireland( BITCI) -

This is the Schools’ Business Partnership which includes initiatives aimed at children and young people attending both primary and post-primary schools, in DEIS and Non DEIS settings. This initiative include a programme called Student Mentoring which is designed for Senior Cycle students.

Way 2 Work Ireland (W2W) -

This is a not-for-profit, registered charity established in 2019. W2W provides a support service to young people (aged 16-25) with a care-experienced background. Their mission is to support and empower young people to achieve their training and employment goals. W2W offers two bespoke programmes to support clients. A mentor-mentee programme that prepares young people for and makes connections with employers in the private sector and an individualised training programme. W2W has grown to offer this service to clients in Leinster, Munster, and Connacht. Working with SCP, W2W are linked with 8 SCP projects and are working with over 30 young people from SCP projects.

Officials from my Department have been advised that the TESS SCP manager for Cork will make contact with the SCP project in question to follow up and offer guidance and support on this particular suggestion. This “ground up” approach to need is welcomed and supported by the TESS SCP management team who meet with projects and staff to seek new ideas and approaches it can support.

My Department recognises the crucial role that regular school attendance plays in achieving educational and social inclusion. With this understanding, I have introduced the Attendance Campaign Support Grant for the academic year 2023/24. This grant is a once-off payment provided to all primary and post-primary schools across Ireland.

The objective of this grant is to bolster the National School Attendance Campaign run by my Department. The grant has a dual focus: it aims to enhance regular school attendance while also targeting individuals and groups at higher risk of educational disadvantage due to poor attendance records.

Schools have the flexibility to use this grant within the current academic year or spread it over a longer period to align with their individual School Self-Evaluation Report and Improvement Plan or their DEIS Action Plan for Improvement. They are encouraged to form local clusters to work collaboratively and maximise the impact of the fund. This could involve early years settings, primary schools, and post-primary schools working together to address issues related to attendance, especially among children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

It is designed to address attendance issues in a targeted and equitable manner. The progressive universalism inherent in its allocation ensures that while all schools benefit, those with the greatest needs receive the most support. This grant is a testament to my Department's ongoing commitment to fostering an education system where every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.

The total allocation of SCP funding for 2023 is €34m.

Since I took over responsibility for the SCP in January 2021, an additional allocation of €2.3m was provided for the programme as part of Budget 2021 measures. The increasing of the SCP full year budget to €27m from 2022 encompassed the extension of SCP to an additional 28 schools and incorporated a 5% increase in budget to SCP funding overall.

From September 2022, an additional €4 million (€5.9 million full year) was provided to allow access to SCP to new DEIS urban primary and post-primary schools under the recent DEIS expansion. A further increase of 5% for SCP was negotiated under Budget 2023.

TESS have operational responsibility for the SCP, with Local Projects operating under the management and direction of a Local Management Committee (LMC). The LMC is responsible for the oversight of the project delivery at local level, including the use of project resources and accountability for public funds.