Finian McGrath
Ceist:477 Mr. F. McGrath asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will introduce proposals (details supplied) to tackle educational disadvantage; and if these will be made priority issues. [19801/03]
Written Answers. - Disadvantaged Status.
Since my appointment as Minister for Education and Science, I have made it clear at every opportunity that addressing educational disadvantage is my top priority. It is my intention to ensure that available educational resources are targeted at the most disadvantaged people in the education system at all levels. My objective is to ensure that all young people leave the education system with a high quality education and related qualifications to support their full participation in society and in the economy.
My overall approach to tackling educational disadvantage is set in the context of the Government's National Action Plan Against Poverty and Social Exclusion 2003-2005 and the latest partnership agreement, Sustaining Progress, which contains a special initiative focused on literacy, numeracy and early school leavers. Some €460 million is being provided by my Department in 2003 for programmes specifically designed to tackle educational disadvantage in accordance with the strategies outlined in the NAPSincl and Sustaining Progress.
I fully recognise the importance of early intervention as a means of preventing future educational disadvantage and at pre-school level my Department continues to support a number of early intervention programmes including the Early Start Project which caters for pupils aged three to four years who are most at risk in areas of social disadvantage. My Department has also provided a budget of €3.4 million over a three year period for the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education, which was established in September 2001. The centre is charged with developing appropriate quality standards in relation to the wide range of issues affecting early childhood education, in pursuance of the objec tives in the White Paper on early childhood education Ready to Learn (1999).
The centre will also develop appropriate forms of early intervention and support for children from disadvantaged backgrounds and children with disabilities, building on the experience of existing programmes. It is envisaged that the recent OECD Review of Early Childhood Education and Care, which will be published shortly, will also inform policy and programme development in this sector and will assist the work of the Centre for Early Childhood Development and Education.
At primary school level, my Department has provided more than €70 million in 2003 for disadvantaged programmes such as the disadvantaged areas scheme, the home school liaison scheme and the giving children an even break programme. Under GCEB, 2,350 participating schools are benefiting from a range of additional supports including teacher posts and financial supports to be targeted at disadvantaged pupils. The additional supports provided reflect the level of concentration of pupils from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in each school. Schools included in the GCEB programme and already in receipt of additional resources under the disadvantaged areas scheme and-or breaking the cycle pilot project retain their entitlements under these schemes.
The main programme within my Department for tackling early school leaving is the school completion programme which was introduced in 2002. The objective of the SCP is to provide a range of interventions in areas of disadvantage that support the retention of young people in education. Eligible schools were selected on the basis of their retention rates from the Department's post-primary pupil database. Schools are grouped into 82 clusters of one or more second-level schools and their major feeder primary schools. At present, 400 schools have been included in the SCP – 112 post-primary and 288 primary – and total funding of €23 million has been provided for the programme in 2003.
In all this work I am advised by the statutory educational disadvantage committee set up under the Education Act, 1998, to advise on the policies and strategies to be adopted to identify and correct educational disadvantage. This committee, chaired by Dr. Áine Hyland, brings together experts from across the community of education interests and is a very important resource for me in ensuring that real progress is made in this area. The committee is currently undertaking a "root and branch" review of all of the disadvantaged schemes operated by my Department in order to ensure optimum synergy and integration. In March 2003, the committee submitted a report to me on the issue of teacher supply and staffing in disadvantaged settings. This report is currently under consideration.