Written Answers - Early School Leavers.
Seamus Kirk
Question:
449
Mr. Kirk
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the progress to date on the school completion initiative under the Employment and Human Resources Development Operational Programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[13628/01]
The school completion initiative, which is financed under the 2000-06 national development plan, through the Operational Programme for Employment and Human Resources Development and co-funded by the European Social Fund, is adopting a multi-faceted approach to the problem of early school leaving. As there is a link between non-school attendance and early school leaving, my Department has initiated a programme comprising both legislative measures and special targeted initiatives to combat the problem of non-school attendance and early school leaving.
The recently enacted Education (Welfare) Act, 2000 will replace and reform current school attendance legislation. The Act provides for the introduction of a comprehensive school attendance service, with responsibility for school attendance being given to a newly established body – the National Educational Welfare Board. The focus of the national authority will be the pro vision of assistance and support, through locally-based educational welfare officers, for schools and families rather than on penalties for non-attendance at school. The Act also includes specific measures for the early identification and support of children at risk of dropping out of school.
In that regard, the Act provides that when a student is either suspended for longer than six days, or misses more than a cumulative total of 20 days in a school year, or displays what the principal considers to be irregular attendance patterns, the principal shall inform the education welfare officer. This trigger mechanism aims to prevent problems before they emerge, rather than treating the symptoms later.
However, legislative solutions are not in themselves enough. It is vitally important that we also have in place strategies to encourage and support schools in retaining pupils to completion of senior cycle. In this regard the eight-15 year old early school leavers initiative was introduced in 1998. One of its key objectives is to test models of response to the problem of early school leaving, with a view to the integration of such models, after structured evaluation, into mainstream policy and practice. The projects strand of this initiative involves 17 specific projects in 14 areas. The initiative was originally introduced for the school years 1998-99 and 1999-2000. I extended the existing 17 projects for a further phase, for the period 1 July 2000 until 31 August 2002. I have secured an additional £4 million in this year's Estimates to further extend the initiative and planning is under way for the selection of the new project areas.
In June 1999 the stay in school retention initiative at second level was launched in 58 schools. This marks a significant departure from traditional policy in that funding of up to £40,000 per annum is being granted to targeted schools, on the basis of plans which they were helped to design themselves. The purpose of this initiative is to prevent early school leaving and raise senior cycle completion rates. At the end of May 2000 an additional 59 schools were invited to participate in the initiative.
Both the early school leavers initiative and the stay-in-school retention initiative involve targeted schools working on a multi-agency and cross-community basis, thereby allowing for the drawing together of the resources necessary to address this complex problem. Plans are under way for the development of a primary pupil database which, along with the post-primary pupil database, will provide for the tracking pupils through the education system.
We must also ensure that the curriculum provided in our second level schools meets the needs of all pupils. The leaving certificate applied and the junior certificate schools programme have been introduced and have made a real impact in this regard. Improving school attendance and preventing early school leaving are not simple matters to resolve and, in order to have a real chance of success, the solutions must be wide ranging and include strategies for identification, balancing of rights, statutory safeguards and school empowerment. I assure the Deputy of the commitment of this Government to address the problem of early school leaving.
