Written Answers. - Early School Leavers.
Olwyn Enright
Question:
269
Ms Enright
asked the
Minister for Education and Science
the amount of funding given to the stay in school initiative each year for the past three years in each school in the RAPID areas; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
[29877/03]
The stay in school retention initiative, SSRI, which is now a strand of the wider school completion programme, provides funding to targeted second level schools to empower them to tackle early school leaving. At the core of the initiative are multi-annual retention plans drawn up by the individual schools and agreed by the Department. These provide for a range of specific measures directed at the particular needs of individual schools, together with clear targets in terms of increased retention up to the end of senior cycle. The overall aim of the allocation is to improve the retention rate of pupils from homes in disadvantaged areas in post-compulsory education programmes and encourage them to avail of the opportunities to develop their educational potential.
Schools were selected to participate in the stay in school retention initiative based on my Department's records of school retention rates. A total of 118 schools participated in the stay in school retention initiative, 44 of which, located in RAPID areas, received £40,000, €50,790, for each of the school years 2000-01 and 2001-02, respectively.
In 2002, my Department amalgamated the eight to 15 early school leaver initiative and the stay in school retention initiative under the aegis of the school completion programme and provided for the funding of extra projects. The amalgamated initiative incorporates the learning, experience and best practice from the eight to 15 early school leaver initiative and the SSRI. It covers both primary and post-primary levels and is focused on young people between the ages of four and 18 years. The programme is funded on a multi-annual basis under the national development plan, NDP, with assistance from the European Social Fund, ESF.
Sites for participation in the school completion programme were selected on the basis of a detailed analysis of pupil retention rates at second level using my Department's post primary pupils database. This analysis also identified their main feeder primary schools. Having regard to the amount of funding available to this programme, 82 project sites, including 32 of the SSRI schools in RAPID areas and their associated feeder primary schools, were selected to participate in the school completion programme. The annual allocation for each of these sites ranges from €140,000 to €325,000.
In addition to the 82 project sites, my Department continues to support the remaining 53 second level schools previously in the SSRI under the stay in school retention strand of the school completion programme. These 53 schools did not qualify for inclusion in the main project strand of the initiative. Of the 53, 12 are in RAPID areas and they received €50,790 each in 2002-03. It was decided to fund the 53 schools involved on a phasing-out basis to 2005, as the available evidence shows that the most effective way of addressing educational disadvantage is through an integrated services approach involving primary and post-primary schools, parents, communities and relevant statutory and voluntary agencies. This is the approach, which my Department is now taking to address the problem of early school leaving, which replaces the previous process of funding individual second level schools, under the stay in school retention initiative.
My Department is currently considering the inclusion of further schools in the project strand of the school completion programme. Some of the remaining 53 SSRI schools could qualify for inclusion in the project strand and they will be notified of the outcome as soon as the process is completed.
