The Programme for a Partnership Government committed to providing additional capitation funding linked to the utilisation of primary school buildings for after-school care provision for school age children to offer more options and flexibility to parents, where there is demand for such a service, in partnership with community groups or private providers.
I can confirm that, further to consultation with relevant school authorities, guidelines on the use of School Buildings outside of School Hours were published in October 2017; these can be viewed on my Department's website. The purpose of these guidelines is to provide guidance for schools in relation to the use of school buildings outside of school hours and for those schools who are considering putting such arrangements in place.
The commitment in the Programme for Government will be considered in the context of the 2019 budgetary process.