Dáil Éireann Debate, Tuesday - 12 February 2019
277. Deputy Catherine Connolly asked the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the review of the Youthreach programme; when it will be published; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [7018/19]
View answerThe Further Education and Training Strategy (2014-2019) committed SOLAS to organising a schedule of independent evaluations of key areas of further education and training provision to ensure that they are effective in delivering the objectives of the programme for FET learners. The evaluation of Youthreach is part of this series of evaluations
The purpose of the Youthreach evaluation is to generate policy-relevant knowledge concerning the outputs and outcomes of the Youthreach programme (i.e. Youthreach centres and Community Training Centres) and the effectiveness of this provision. Following a competitive tendering process, the ESRI was awarded the contract to conduct the independent Youthreach evaluation throughout 2018, with the final report submitted to SOLAS in December. SOLAS have developed a response document to the findings, which is currently being reviewed by my Department and SOLAS. It is envisaged both the evaluation and response document will be published before the end of Q1 2019.
