Mary Upton
Ceist:343 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of early school leavers in Dublin; and the figures for schools by Dublin postcode. [25131/03]
Written Answers. - Early School Leavers.
The first published analysis by my Department of school retention in Ireland was released in August of this year. The report, entitled Retention Rates of Pupils in Post-Primary Schools – 1994 Cohort was issued to all second level schools and is available on my Department's website. It is my Department's intention to publish similar reports on an annual basis henceforth.
The information requested by the Deputy in relation to second level schools in Dublin is set out in the following table:
Retention Rates for 1994 Cohort by Reference to Dublin Postal Districts
|
Postal District |
Number ofSchools |
Cohort |
Junior Cycle,yr 2 (%) |
Junior Cycle,yr 3 (%) |
Junior CycleExam Sits(%) |
Senior Cycle,yr 1 (%) |
Senior CycleRetention(%) |
|
Dublin 1 |
6 |
443 |
96.2 |
91.0 |
86.5 |
75.6 |
67.7 |
|
Dublin 2 |
3 |
215 |
99.5 |
97.2 |
97.2 |
80.5 |
78.1 |
|
Dublin 3 |
4 |
424 |
98.3 |
95.5 |
93.4 |
81.4 |
74.8 |
|
Dublin 4 |
9 |
546 |
98.5 |
96.5 |
95.4 |
85.5 |
77.5 |
|
Dublin 5 |
10 |
1,130 |
98.8 |
97.5 |
95.6 |
84.7 |
73.2 |
|
Dublin 6 |
10 |
897 |
99.2 |
98.3 |
97.4 |
89.5 |
81.3 |
|
Dublin 6W |
3 |
444 |
99.3 |
99.3 |
98.9 |
93.0 |
86.0 |
|
Dublin 7 |
5 |
558 |
98.0 |
94.8 |
89.8 |
79.2 |
72.8 |
|
Dublin 8 |
6 |
422 |
95.3 |
91.7 |
85.1 |
70.4 |
57.3 |
|
Dublin 9 |
11 |
1,057 |
97.7 |
94.4 |
92.1 |
81.0 |
73.2 |
|
Dublin 10 |
4 |
499 |
95.0 |
89.8 |
82.2 |
64.1 |
48.7 |
|
Dublin 11 |
9 |
934 |
97.6 |
93.7 |
88.9 |
71.5 |
63.1 |
|
Dublin 12 |
9 |
1,074 |
98.7 |
96.6 |
95.1 |
78.7 |
71.5 |
|
Dublin 13 |
7 |
650 |
99.4 |
97.8 |
94.2 |
81.1 |
74.3 |
|
Dublin 14 |
9 |
733 |
98.4 |
98.0 |
97.0 |
88.0 |
82.0 |
|
Dublin 15 |
5 |
801 |
98.0 |
95.6 |
92.8 |
78.9 |
72.2 |
|
Dublin 16 |
7 |
719 |
98.7 |
95.5 |
93.3 |
82.8 |
75.5 |
|
Dublin 17 |
2 |
251 |
94.0 |
82.1 |
73.7 |
47.0 |
41.4 |
|
Dublin 18 |
2 |
233 |
97.0 |
94.8 |
93.6 |
83.3 |
76.4 |
|
Dublin 20 |
3 |
341 |
100 |
98.2 |
96.8 |
83.9 |
77.5 |
|
Dublin 22 |
6 |
793 |
98.6 |
94.6 |
89.0 |
76.8 |
67.3 |
|
Dublin 24 |
8 |
1,296 |
98.4 |
94.8 |
90.1 |
75.0 |
67.2 |
|
Dublin North |
10 |
1,448 |
98.5 |
97.2 |
94.6 |
86.1 |
79.5 |
|
Dublin West |
4 |
558 |
99.1 |
98.4 |
97.8 |
90.7 |
85.1 |
|
Blackrock |
8 |
978 |
97.7 |
96.6 |
96.1 |
90.1 |
76.1 |
|
Dún Laoghaire |
12 |
787 |
95.8 |
93.4 |
91.5 |
81.4 |
75.7 |
|
Total |
172 |
18,234 |
98.1 |
95.6 |
92.8 |
81.0 |
72.9 |
The table sets out the number of pupils enrolled in post-primary schools in Dublin city and county on 30 September 1994, together with the percentage of those pupils who subsequently sat the junior certificate and leaving certificate examinations.
My Department does not have specific data in relation to early school leaving at primary level. However, the 2002 NESF report on early school leaving estimated that approximately 1,000 children do not transfer from primary to post-primary on an annual basis.
My Department is currently completing analysis work on the development of a primary pupils database. A project team, overseen by a steering group, has been assigned to work on the development of this key resource, which will facilitate the collation of comprehensive data on transfer rates in the future.
Mary Upton
Ceist:344 Dr. Upton asked the Minister for Education and Science the number of young people who drop out of the education system at the transition point between primary school and secondary school; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [25132/03]
The 2002 NESF report on early school leaving estimated that approximately 1,000 children do not transfer from primary to post-primary on an annual basis.
My Department is currently completing analysis work on the development of a primary pupils database. A project team, overseen by a steering group, has been assigned to work on the development of this key resource, which will facilitate the collation of comprehensive data on transfer rates in the future.
A number of programmes operate at both primary and post-primary level that are designed to tackle educational disadvantage and the problem of early school leaving.
The Giving Children an Even Break programme provides additional financial and teaching supports for children in primary schools from disadvantaged backgrounds who are most at risk of educational disadvantage and early school leaving. Expenditure on this programme in 2003 will be in excess of €17 million.
A key role in this regard is also played by the home-school-community liaison scheme, which has been extended to each of the 311 designated disadvantaged primary schools in the country. This scheme helps parents to develop their skills as the primary educators of their children and also operates transfer programmes to help primary school pupils to make the transition to post primary level. Expenditure on this scheme will be in the region of €7 million in 2003.
The main programme within my Department for tackling the issue of early school leaving is the school completion programme, which was launched in 2002. The school completion programme is based on an integrated cross-community approach to tackling educational disadvantage, involving 82 projects, 288 primary and 112 post primary schools, parents, communities and relevant statutory and voluntary agencies. It entails targeting individual young people of school going age, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in education access, participation and outcomes. Total funding of €23 million has been provided for the programme in 2003.
The Education Welfare Act 2000, and the establishment of the National Educational Welfare Board provides a comprehensive framework for promoting regular school attendance and tackling the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The Act requires schools to draw up school attendance strategies in order to promote regular attendance and tackle the problems of absenteeism and early school leaving. The strategies will focus on arrangements for the identification of children who are at risk of dropping out of school at an early stage so that appropriate interventions may be put in place. To discharge its responsibilities, the board is developing a nationwide service to provide welfare-focused services to children, families and schools.
A budget of €5.4 million has been allocated to the board for the current year. Such concentrated and focused deployment of funds should effectively assist in redressing the problem of early school leaving.