My Department makes a specific allocation of teaching posts in respect of guidance to schools in the post-primary system. This allocation is based on the pupil enrolment in September of the preceding school year. There has been a significant improvement in the resources provided by my Department to schools for the provision of guidance to students in the past five years. In 2001, 50 additional full-time posts were allocated to guidance under a new initiative, the Guidance Enhancement Initiative (GEI), for a period of three years. In all, 103 secondary, community and vocational schools received additional guidance resources as a result of this. In 2004, the GEI was extended for a further two years and was expanded to include an additional 30 full-time equivalent posts. In total, approximately 200 schools have received additional hours under this initiative which I have now extended further to include the next academic year.
As a result of my decision to allocate an additional 100 posts to guidance from September 2005 an enhanced guidance allocation provision has been put in place from the commencement of the 2005/06 school year. This enhanced provision means that in the case of schools in the Free Education/Block Grant Schemes, the level of allocation ranges from 8 hours per week for schools with enrolments below 200 pupils to 47 hours per week for schools with an enrolment of 1,000 pupils or more. This also included a further improvement in the allocation of Guidance hours for post-primary schools participating in the DEIS programme — Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools. The allocation for these schools now ranges from 11 hours per week for schools with enrolments below 300 to 55 hours per week for schools with an enrolment of 1,000 pupils or more. There are currently a total of 683 whole-time equivalent posts allocated for guidance in post-primary schools.
In a circular issued to the managerial authorities of all second level schools in May 2005 my Department described guidance as a range of learning experiences that assist students to develop self-management skills that will lead to effective choices and decisions about their lives. Schools were asked to utilise the additional guidance allocation granted under this circular, as far as possible, to focus on guidance provision at junior cycle. Research evidence has indicated that student attitudes and occupational aspirations at age 14 have a strong relationship with subsequent educational choices.
My Department has also funded the development by the Institute of Guidance Counsellors of the Qualifax website which provides up-to-date information on every course (third level, further education, adult education) in the 32 counties of Ireland. Every course listed has a link to the website of the provider of the course. In the reference library of the website, there are links to approximately 400 education related websites both nationally and internationally. The Qualifax website won the award for "Best use of Technology in Education and Training" at the ICT Excellence awards 2006. Students will be able to avail of this resource to research the full range of options available to them at higher education level, or in further education.
While the view may be widely held in the third level sector that one of the principal causes of drop-out in the first year is a lack of understanding on the part of students of the courses chosen by them, there are many other influences which contribute to non-completion of courses. I am satisfied, however, that the additional guidance resources and supports provided by my Department at second level contribute significantly to ensuring that students are well informed and prepared for third level choices.
