Vol. 573 No. 1
179 Ms O'Sullivan asked the Minister for Education and Science if he will consider introducing a means-tested education allowance as exists in Scotland, to encourage 16 to 19 year olds from poor families to stay in education or further training; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [24429/03]
My Department's policy to combat educational disadvantage and early school leaving are designed to include related and complementary strategies to improve participation rates and outcomes in mainstream schools and to provide second-chance education and training for those who left school early without any qualification.
The findings from an evaluation carried out on education maintenance allowance in East Ayrshire, Scotland, shows that while there is an increase in participation and improved retention is most evident in young people from low-income families, it is unlikely to retain those who are unhappy in school and who have little experience of academic success. The causes of early school leaving cannot be attributed to one single factor. They are multifaceted and complex, such as family history of early school leaving, intellectual or physical challenge, disruptive behaviour, severe literacy problems or learning difficulties, economic stress or distress in one's family background, membership of an ethnic minority group or membership of the Traveller community. The problem of early school leaving requires movement on a number of fronts, including legislative and curricular reforms and preventative interventions. This is the approach my Department is taking.
The Education (Welfare) Act 2000 and the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board is an important plank 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. With regard to the 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 junior certificate schools programme, the leaving certificate vocational programme, the vocational preparation training and the leaving certificate applied.
The school completion programme has been implemented to 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. In line with current thinking, it 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. The school completion programme recognises that a wide variety of home, community and school-based factors can contribute to low school attainment and early school leaving. Consequently, strategies designed to address the needs of young people at risk of early school leaving must include a range of actions that impinge on these aspects of young people's lives and must be holistic and child-centred by nature. It entails targeting individual young people aged four to 18, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in education access, participation and outcomes.
