Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 4 July 2006
115 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the measures she proposes to introduce to achieve the goal in the draft social partnership agreement of reducing early school leaving by 10% by 2010; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [25936/06]
View answerA key focus of the Government's education policy is to prioritise investment in favour of those most at risk and to optimise access, participation and outcomes at every level of the system for disadvantaged groups. The total provision for educational inclusion programmes in 2006 is more than €640m across all levels of education, as compared with almost €600m in 2005. This includes additional funding for the implementation of measures under the DEIS action plan at pre-school, primary and second-level, additional funding of €7m for further education programmes and a €20m increase in provision for third-level student support schemes.
My Department's approach to addressing educational disadvantage and social exclusion is set in the context of the Programme for Government, the National Action Plans against Poverty and Social Exclusion, and social partnership agreements.
The wide variety of measures in place for tackling educational disadvantage and social exclusion range from pre-school interventions, supports for tackling children's literacy problems, reduced pupil teacher ratios, increased capitation grants, measures to tackle early school leaving and strengthen ties between the school, the family and the community.
With regard to early school leavers, the available statistical evidence indicates that ongoing measures at primary and second level and the increasing range of further education and training opportunities available for students who leave school early are having a positive impact and these measures will be further strengthened and expanded as outlined in the new social partnership agreement. The latest CSO data show that the proportion of 18-24 year olds who left school with, at most, lower secondary education in Ireland was 12.3% in 2005 compared with an EU average of 14.9%. The educational profile of 20-24 year olds in Ireland has improved steadily over the last five years, as increasing opportunities have been made available in the further education and training sector. Almost 87% of 20-24 year olds in 2005 had completed second-level education (or higher), up from 82.4% in 2000.
This Government has pursued a dual strategy of both encouraging more young people to finish school and ensuring much greater second chance and further education opportunities for those who have left school early. This kind of strategy ensures that young people are empowered to achieve their full potential, be that by sitting the Leaving Cert or by pursuing qualifications through other pathways such as Youthreach or FÁS apprenticeships which may be more appropriate to their individual interests.
With regard to curriculum, my Department's strategies have included widening the educational experience available to students, which aim to achieve a greater level of inclusiveness in curricular provision and meet the needs of the diversity of pupils in our second level schools, by expanding funding for programmes such as the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP), Vocational Preparation Training (VPT) and the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA).
The School Completion Programme was implemented to directly target those in danger of dropping out of the education system and is a key component of my Department's strategy to discriminate positively in favour of children and young people who are at risk of early school leaving, and in line with current thinking favours an integrated cross-community and cross-sectoral approach based on the development of local strategies to ensure maximum participation levels in the education process. It entails targeting individual young people aged 4-18, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in education access, participation and outcomes.
The Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme is concerned with maximising active involvement of children in the learning process, in particular those who might be at risk of failure; promoting active cooperation between home, school and relevant community agencies in promoting the educational interests of the children; raising awareness in parents of their own capacities to enhance their children's educational progress and to assist them in developing relevant skills; enhancing the children's uptake from education, their retention in the educational system, their continuation to post-compulsory education and to third level and their attitudes to lifelong learning and disseminating the positive outcomes of the scheme throughout the school system generally.
The Education Welfare Act and the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board is an important part in the campaign to keep students at school and will provide a comprehensive framework for promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The key principle of early intervention underpins both the early childhood education measure and many of the literacy and numeracy measures being adopted under DEIS, the actional plan for educational inclusion. The new action plan will place a renewed emphasis on the involvement of parents and families in children's education in schools. The Department and the National Educational Welfare Board will work together to ensure that an integrated approach to children at risk is adopted.
Progression from primary to second-level is recognised as a crucial transition period in a child's education. Under the action plan, a continuing emphasis will be placed on the development of effective transfer programmes by building on the existing work of the Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme. Over a two year period, Home School Community Liaison and School Completion Programme services will be extended to all schools participating in a new integrated School Support Programme under DEIS and not already in receipt of these services. Other measures such as extending access to Schools' Business Partnerships, school meals, guidance counselling and student councils will also be facilitated through the action plan. In addition, increased integration will be promoted between the work of second-level schools and centres catering for young early school leavers, particularly Youthreach centres and Senior Traveller Training Centres.
