ACTION PLAN FOR EDUCATION 2018 Submission to the Department of Education and Skills NOVERMBER 2018 SOCIAL JUSTICE AND POLICY TEAM Society of St. Vincent de Paul
Introduction The Society of St Vincent De Paul (SVP) welcomes the opportunity to engage with the Department of Education and Skills in its consultation process for the Action Plan for Education 2018. SVP is Ireland's largest charity of social concern and action and access to education is the cornerstone of our social justice and advocacy work, as it is the main route out of poverty. SVP members have, and continue to be, actively involved in supporting people, at all stages of the life cycle, to access education. Our recommendations for progressing the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 are based on this experience. Progress on Action Plan for Education 2016-2019 SVP notes some incremental progress made under the Action Plan for Education 2016-2019. The roll out of the new Resource Allocation Model for special education needs, the implementation of the AIM initiative, the development of the Well-Being in Schools Guidelines and the publication of the new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion are welcome. However, progress to date on addressing educational disadvantage, education costs, participation and access has been disappointing. The delay in the publication of the Action Plan for Social Inclusion in the context of broader funding cuts means that the potential for these supports to be leveraged in a way that tackles entrenched disadvantaged, as well as reaching a wider cohort of students, has been limited. Similarly, the delay in publication of the report on the barriers to higher education for lone parents and the Data Access Plan for Higher Education, has hindered the development of evidence based budgetary decisions in these areas. The lack of progress on the implementation on the National Plan for Equity of Access means that non-traditional and disadvantaged students continue to face additional barriers in accessing third and higher education. The measures enacted to date to tackle education costs at primary, secondary and third level are totally inadequate. Budget 2018 failed to deliver on several commitments outlined in the Action Plan that would have reduced the burden of education costs on low income groups. This must be rectified in 2018 & 2019. Priorities for 2018 Improve the learning experience and the success of learners Young people s experiences and outcomes are shaped by their social background and the recent report by the ESRI shows transition difficulties are greater among those from more disadvantaged backgrounds and among young people with special educational needs (Smyth, 2017). 1 Objective 1.4 of the Action Plan for Education Improve the transition of learners at critical stages in the education and training system, this needs to be expanded in 2018 to encompass tailored and targeted supports for disadvantaged young people during transitions from early years to primary to secondary and from secondary to third level. This objective is aligned with Goal 2 outlined below. This will be critical when delivering a cohesive life-course approach to tackling educational disadvantage. 1 Smyth (2017) Off to a good start? Primary school experiences and the transition to second-level education http://www.esri.ie/publications/off-to-a-good-start-primary-school-experiences-and-the-transition-to-secondlevel-education/
Improve the progress of learners at risk of educational disadvantage or learners with special educational needs SVP notes the addition of 79 schools under the new DEIS Plan and the expansion of supports to include, for example, the Incredible Years programme. The introduction of pilot School Excellence Fund and 1.8m funding for Innovative Programmes to tackle educational disadvantage in DEIS schools is a welcome initiative. These measures should improve the educational outcomes of students located in these schools. The development of a more robust and objective school identification process using the Pobal Deprivation Index should ensure that resources are targeted more effectively. The Action Plan for Educational Inclusion states that new resource allocation model developed for application to all SSP schools to include a more tailored system of resource allocation, within which there are more grades of disadvantage identified and resources allocated accordingly in response to the needs of the individual schools. This is a welcome commitment as the current cut off means that schools with high levels of disadvantage, but who are just above the threshold, are excluded from DEIS funding. However, the DEIS Identification Process published in June 2017 does not contain information on how a tapered funding model will be operationalised. 2 It is important that a more flexible, responsive and transparent funding allocation model is properly designed and tested to allow more children to access supports provided under DEIS. Importantly, however, tackling educational inequality solely through DEIS is limited; many disadvantaged children do not attend DEIS schools. This highlights the importance of providing some assistance for disadvantaged groups across all schools (Smyth, 2017). 3 As per the Programme for Government Commitment, we also recommend further investment in targeted measures to address educational disadvantage among children and young people attending schools outside DEIS. This could be achieved by implementing a special capitation grant based on the socio-economic status of the pupils (e.g similar to the Pupil Premium model in England) and extending effective and evidenced aspects of the DEIS programme to non-deis schools e.g. transfer of learning from the School Excellence Fund. The expansion of the School Meals programme (breakfast clubs) under Budget 2017 to non-deis schools set a precedent in this regard. We see great potential for these programmes, if leveraged and configured correctly and driven by a clear interdepartmental approach, to secure better outcomes for disadvantaged students located in non-deis schools. Importantly, however, we must ensure that the level of funding via general capitation is adequate to provide quality, free and accessible education. The cuts made to the capitation grant from 2010 onwards had limited the extent to which DEIS funding can be utilised effectively and solely for targeted programmes and supports. Every year, SVP support thousands of students to access further and higher education. SVP members know first-hand that this is inadequate from an accessibility and affordability point of view. They have seen how the increase in the student contribution to 3,000 and changes and cuts to the maintenance grant have put third level education further out of reach for many people. Recognising these inadequacies, SVP run education bursary schemes across the country. These bursaries cover 2 https://www.education.ie/en/schools-colleges/services/deis-delivering-equality-of-opportunity-in-schools- /DEIS-Identification-Process.pdf 3 Smyth (2017) Off to a good start? Primary school experiences and the transition to second-level education http://www.esri.ie/publications/off-to-a-good-start-primary-school-experiences-and-the-transition-to-secondlevel-education/
fees as well as essentials like the cost of accommodation, transport, books and materials. Without this support these students would not be able to take up a place at college. Although positive educational experiences in early years, primary and secondary school settings are crucial, evidence consistently shows that enhancing the affordability of higher education through direct financial support that reduces the burden on disadvantaged students is proven to widen access and participation. 4 The Cassells report on the Future Funding of Higher Education in Ireland makes a number of recommendations to improve financial support including enhancing the value of the grant, and extending supports to part-time and post-graduate students. Such measures would be welcome and would assist in reducing the burden of third level on disadvantaged and nontraditional students. SVP also strongly assert that the introduction of an Income Contingent Loan System will greatly undermine the access and participation objectives of the Action Plan for Education. The main reasons include: 1) the debt burden will be greater for low income students, 2) participation rates among part-time and mature students will fall as these groups are more debt averse, 3) the repayment burden will be greater for some groups due to a higher cost of living, and 4) recouping cost of ICLs will continue to undermine other higher education objectives. 5 SVP therefore are advocating that Option 1 of the Cassels report, a predominately state-funded system, is implemented. 6 Government must take a mid to long term view of the benefits of an accessible, quality and affordable higher education system and provide the required level of funding to address current deficits. The Action Plan for 2018 should focus on reducing the cost of third level to improve access and participation of disadvantaged groups. Many students SVP support are non-traditional and disadvantaged students, often second chance learners balancing education with caring and working roles. The lack of progress under the National Plan for Equity of Access means these groups continue to have difficulties in accessing further and higher education. The decision to extend eligibility to the Student Assistance fund to lone parents working part-time in August 2017 was welcome. However, this falls short in terms of the Access Plan recommendation to explore more ways to provide financial support to flexible, mature and parttime learners. As per the Cassells report, we recommend that SUSI is extended to those wishing to study part time. Build stronger bridges between education and the wider community SVP are very concerned about the lack of progress on objective 4.2. No. 86 regarding school costs. In August 2017 SVP received a record number of calls as 5,000 families sought help with back to school costs. Despite the increase in the Back to School Allowance and the new circular on reducing school costs to parents, it is our experience that these costs they continue to put significant pressure on low income families and act as a barrier to school participation for disadvantaged children. While the 4 Sosu et. al. 2016 Widening Access to Higher Education for Students from Economically Disadvantaged Backgrounds: What works and why? https://pure.strath.ac.uk/portal/files/55895221/sosu_etal_2016_widening_access_to_higher_education_for_students_fro m_economically_disadvantaged_backgrounds.pdf 5 SVP (2017) Submission to the JOC on Education and Skills on the Future Funding of Higher Education in Ireland https://www.svp.ie/getattachment/51049826-e04b-4272-8396-d4fe6dd62d6f/svp-submission-to-the- JOC-on-the-furture-funding-o.aspx 6 The second variation of this model, as per the Cassells report, which includes undergraduate and postgraduate fees.
measures offer some practical solutions for parents such as a ban on workbooks and sew on crests, it doesn t address the fact that parents are subsidising an underfunded education system. Parent continue to be asked to fundraise or provide contributions for day to day expenses such as heating, photocopying and other classroom resources. Budget 2017 and 2018 failed to deliver on the Action Plan commitment to restore the capitation rates to 2010 levels. Funding for the School Books Scheme is also inadequate and little progress has been made to reduce/eliminate school costs for parents. We know that many secondary schools are not offering the scheme and those that have book rental, typically ask parents to pay high contributions between 100 and 200. As well as delivering on these commitments, the Department needs conduct a review to establish the funding level that is required to deliver a quality, universal and genuinely free education system. A recent submission by a group of NGOs, including SVP, to the BOBF advisory group outlines practical solutions to addressing education costs and breaking down barriers to education for disadvantaged children. The Action Plan for Education must interact and feed into the commitments under the BOBF framework, in particularly those relating to child poverty. Improve national planning and support services The new National Planning Framework from the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government Ireland 2040 commits to providing additional investment in primary, secondary, and third level infrastructure to keep pace with demographic demand. There is also a commitment to build and acquire new education facilities to meet the needs of specific localities. It is important that the Action Plan for Education 2018 objective to deliver appropriate infrastructure for learning environments links into this broader planning and infrastructure framework. Properly planned supporting infrastructure such as broadband and transport links, as well as local amenities, is also critical to the sustainability of these new education settings.