Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Status.
Michael D. Higgins
Question:
36
Mr. M. Higgins
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the pilot programmes initiated to address education disadvantage which will be mainstreamed; the dates in this regard; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[12796/99]
Michael D'Arcy
Question:
53
Mr. D'Arcy
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
his views on whether the Breaking the Cycle approach merits expansion as part of a programme to tackle educational disadvantage.
[12806/99]
I propose to take Questions Nos. 36 and 53 together.
My Department has a number of pilot programmes in place at present to test models of response to the problem of educational disadvantage. The programmes in question include initiatives targeting pupils at various levels in the education system. Deputies will obviously agree that the mainstreaming of projects must be based on effective and thorough evaluation.
The key pilot programmes currently in place include the early start pre-school pilot programme; the support teacher pilot programme; the breaking the cycle of disadvantage pilot pro gramme; and the 8-15 year old early school leavers pilot programme.
My Department is currently engaged in the preparation of a white paper on early childhood education which will set out my proposals for future development of services in this area. The future operation of the early start pre-school programme will be considered in this context.
The support teacher pilot programme, which was formerly known as the teacher counsellor programme, was introduced in 1995. This programme is being monitored by my Department on an ongoing basis. I am currently considering an interim evaluation report on the operation of this project.
The breaking the cycle pilot project was introduced in the autumn of 1996 and is scheduled to operate in the participating schools over a planned five year period. The operation of the scheme is being closely monitored by my Department. The scheme is being evaluated by the education research centre. The future of the scheme as a model for addressing educational disadvantage in urban and rural settings will be considered in the light of the findings in the evaluation report which is due in the year 2001.
The eight-15 year old early school leavers initiative was introduced in September 1998. The current pilot phase of this initiative is testing models of response to the problems of early school leaving. The question of mainstreaming the initiative will be considered in the light of experience gained with the models now being tested under the pilot phase.
In the area of adult education a number of new initiatives have been introduced recently to test models of good practice in the delivery of further education services to address educational disadvantage. These include: child care provision of £2.7 million in 1998 and 1999 to support access of early schools and adults to VTOS, youthreach and traveller training centre programmes; a new guidance, counselling and psychological service for youthreach and traveller early school leavers; a sum of £600,000 in 1998 and 1999 for a women's education initiative aimed at addressing gaps in provision of adult education for educationally disadvantaged women; additional funds of £2 million in 1998 and a further £3.2 million in 1999 and 2000 towards the development for a national adult literacy development fund.
It is intended that the lessons learned from these projects will be examined with a view to mainstreaming in the context of ongoing developments in adult education generally arising from the consultation process currently under way in relation to the Green Paper: Adult Education in an Era of Lifelong Learning.
I recently announced a £57 million package of initiatives to address the problem of educational disadvantage across all levels of the education system. This package represents the largest programme of its type ever undertaken. It complements the measures already in place to combat educational disadvantage and will make a major contribution to our efforts in this area.
