Shónagh Ní Raghallaigh (Kildare South, Sinn Fein)
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779. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the measures been taken to ameliorate the Governance structures of the school completion programme since major shortcomings were identified in the 2015 ESRI report examining the body; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [44806/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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Responsibility for the administration of the School Completion Programme (SCP), transferred back from the Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth to my Department on 1 January 2021. The SCP is a key component of my department’s Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) programme, which is the key policy initiative to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level, in a targeted and equitable way, across the primary and post-primary sector.

A review of the SCP was conducted by the ESRI in 2015, which was followed by a further review of the programme carried out by the ESRI in 2024. The report which was published in February 2025 is extremely positive overall, with continued improvements over the past decade specifically highlighted.

Findings of this review also highlighted ongoing concerns regarding the governance of the current operating models and areas for further development, and these findings are being actively considered by my department.

Since the transfer of the SCP to my department , a programme of work undertaken has resulted in agreement that the current governance arrangements are no longer a sustainable employment model and work is now underway, which will lead to the development and implementation of a new employment framework for the programme.

Officials from my department are working very closely with Tusla Education Support Service, TESS, who hold operational responsibility for the programme, and are actively engaging with key stakeholders to advance the various phases of work.

The values, purpose and ambition associated with this work, is focused on ensuring that the future employment and governance framework for the SCP is robust, sustainable, and supports the future development of this programme, thereby improving the educational experience and outcomes for children and young people at risk of early school leaving and educational disadvantage.