Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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557. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of staff on the School Completion Programme payroll, including coordinators, project workers and sessional staff; and the number who are full-time and part-time, in tabular form. [48813/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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558. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the average length of service for School Completion Programme staff nationwide. [48814/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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559. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the projected cost for public service status of School Completion Programme staff. [48815/25]

Jen Cummins (Dublin South Central, Social Democrats)
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560. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills for an update on talks between her Department and the School Completion Programme; and whether the talks are ongoing and progressing. [48816/25]

Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 557, 558, 559 and 560 together.

The School Completion Programme (SCP) is a central element of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) strategy and operates under Tusla Education Support Service (TESS), as a commissioned service under section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013.

SCP provides vital support to children and young people at risk of early school leaving across over 800 schools, delivered through 121 individual projects.

While TESS have operational responsibility for the programme, projects are managed at local level by voluntary Local Management Committees (LMC’S) who act as employer for SCP staff, in the majority of the projects. The LMC is responsible for the oversight of the project delivery at local level, including the use of project resources, employment of staff, and accountability for public funds.

Since responsibility for the administration of SCP, transferred back to my Department on 1 January 2021, 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.

Through phase 1 of the project work the ETB sector has been identified as the preferred employer to replace the 121 current employers (LMC’s and others). SCP will continue to be commissioned by TESS under Section 56 of the Child and Family Agency Act 2013, and TESS will retain the relevant programme-related roles and responsibilities.

While this preferred option would see SCP staff employed through the ETB sector, this arrangement does not confer public sector status on SCP staff who are not currently public servants and will not change the employment status of those small number of SCP staff who are currently employed as public servants under legacy arrangements.

Officials from my department are working very closely with TESS, who hold operational responsibility for the programme, and are actively engaging with all 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.