Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 28 June 2018
127. Deputy Margaret Murphy O'Mahony asked the Minister for Education and Skills when the expansion of the DEIS programme as part of the school completion programme will be announced in view of the fact that it was due to be announced in May 2017; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [28430/18]
View answerAs the Deputy is aware, following the publication of DEIS Plan 2017 in February of last year, DEIS was extended to a further 79 schools. Schools included in the DEIS programme have access to a wide range of supports including additional capitation in the form of the DEIS grant, reduced class size for Band 1 schools, access to HSCL scheme, priority access to a range of professional development supports as well as to the Centre for School Leadership and access to the Incredible Years and Friends Programmes.
One of the supports available under DEIS is access to the School Completion Programme (SCP). SCP focuses on targeting and providing supports to young people identified to be most at risk of early school leaving. Access to the SCP has not yet been extended to those 79 schools which were included in the DEIS programme last year. As noted in DEIS Plan 2017, supports under DEIS will be extended on a phased basis to those schools not already in receipt of these supports. SCP comes under the remit of my colleague, the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs. The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs and Tusla Educational Welfare Service are fully committed to the future of the School Completion Programme and will continue to work with colleagues in my Department to ensure that it will deliver the best possible outcomes for young people at risk of early school-leaving.
