Early School Leavers - Strategies and Support

1. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Facilitator Profile Jim McVeigh MSc Education is currently the Development Officer for Youth and Sport with Dublin and Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board. He began his career in education as a Guidance counsellor with County Offaly VEC in Tullamore. Jim has worked with City of Dublin VEC and the Curriculum Development unit devising and implementing programmes for early school leavers. He was involved in the major European initiatives on education for youth at risk, Pathways, and Espair and is currently rolling out the Alternative Learning Programme. Jim is a member of the National Youth Work Advisory Committee as a representative of Education and Training Board Ireland.

2. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Facilitator. Jim McVeigh Premature disengagement from the education system can have a profound negative impact on a young person’s life and their ability to gain employment, achieve financial stability and make a positive impact on society in the future. The workshop will present guidance counsellors with an opportunity to explore the profile of an early school leaver and the options and opportunities open to them. New and current programmes will be examined and strategies for supporting and empowering young people to remain in education or training will be presented.

3. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Introductions • Ken Robinson-How to Escape Educations Death Valley • The New Environment • Background to Early School Leaving • The Early School Leaver Profile • Strategies for dealing with Early School Leaving • The Youth Work Option • Feedback

4. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support The New Environment • Junior Cycle Student Award(JSCA) • Department of Children and Youth Affairs (National Children's Strategy) • Child and Family Agency (TUSLA) (Incorporating NEWB and School Completion) • Youth Guarantee

5. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support

6. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Five National outcomes for Children and Young People

7. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Child and Family Agency(TUSLA) • Child Protection & Welfare • Social Work Services • Alternative Care • Services for Children in Care and Adoption • Family Support & Early Years Services • Prevention, Partnership and Family Support. Early Years Services. Psychology Services • Educational Welfare Services • Working to secure better educational outcomes for children and young people • Domestic, Sexual & Gender Based Violence • Do you ever feel unsafe in your own home, if you need someone to talk to help is available

8. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Post Primary The post-primary education sector comprises secondary, vocational, community and comprehensive schools .Secondary schools are privately owned and managed. Vocational schools are state-established and administered by Education and Training Boards (ETBs), while community and comprehensive schools are managed by Boards of Management of differing compositions. Post-primary education consists of a three-year Junior Cycle (lower secondary), followed by a two or three year Senior Cycle (upper secondary), depending on whether the optional Transition Year (TY) is taken. Students usually begin the Junior Cycle at age 12. The Junior Certificate examination is taken after three years. The main objective of the Junior Cycle is for students to complete a broad and balanced curriculum, and to develop the knowledge and skills that will enable them to proceed to Senior Cycle education. The Senior Cycle caters for students in the 15 to 18 year age group. It includes an optional Transition Year, which follows immediately after the Junior Cycle. TY provides an opportunity for students to experience a wide range of educational inputs, including work experience, over the course of a year that is free from formal examinations. During the final two years of Senior Cycle students take one of three programmes, each leading to a State Examination: the traditional Leaving Certificate, the Leaving Certificate Vocational Programme (LCVP) or the Leaving Certificate Applied (LCA

9. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Young people who for one reason or another have found themselves at a distance from the formal education system without the supports or values from parents, relatives or friends that easily permit an access route back. • The longer such young people find themselves in this position the more difficult it becomes for them to return to school. They have lost contact with friends, are behind with school work and have often become involved in activities and routines that are not compatible with the school regime. • Often these young people are still engaged with school at some level and that any action which shortens the length of time away from education is a positive step.

10. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support About 16.5% of post-primary students were absent for 20 days or more during the school year. Based on population numbers this is approximately 52,500 students. Analysis of School Attendance Data in Primary and Post-Primary Schools, 2010/11 Report to the National Educational Welfare Board

11. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support

12. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support

13. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Every year, around 9,000 young people leave school before taking the Leaving Certificate. The proportion of young people staying on in school has remained relatively stable since the mid 1990s. • Early leaving rates differ markedly by social class background, with much higher levels among young people from working-class and unemployed households. Working-class young men are particularly likely to leave school early. Disengagement from school is therefore a significant source of inequality in Irish society. • Early school leaving has its roots in early experiences of educational failure and struggle with schoolwork, often as far back as primary level. • Drop-out rates tend to be higher in schools with a concentration of students from disadvantaged backgrounds No Way Back? The Dynamics of Early School Leaving

14. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Drop-out rates vary considerably across individual schools, even taking into account differences in their student profiles. • Ability grouping (allocating students to base classes according to their academic ability) has a significant effect on school drop-out. Students allocated to lower stream classes experience a climate of low expectations and negative student-teacher interaction, and are much more likely to leave school early. • The school climate, that is, the quality of relations between teachers and students, emerges as a key factor in young people staying in education. Negative interaction with teachers is commonly reported by early school leavers, with many feeling they did not receive the help they needed or were not listened to. • In some cases, school disciplinary procedures, such as suspension or expulsion, can trigger early school leaving. • Poor interaction with peers, through being isolated or bullied, also contributes to early school leaving. No Way Back? The Dynamics of Early School Leaving

15. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Early school leaving is generally the culmination of a longer-term gradual withdrawal from school, marked by non-attendance and truancy. • High-impact personal issues, such as bereavement, may trigger early school leaving, reflecting the complexity of the circumstances faced by some young people. • Job opportunities may precipitate early school leaving but only where young people are already disaffected with school. No Way Back? The Dynamics of Early School Leaving

16. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Most early leavers experience unemployment at some point after leaving school. Where they obtain jobs, they tend to be insecure and/or in low-skilled areas. They are therefore particularly vulnerable to the current economic conditions. • Early school leavers rely heavily on personal networks to obtain apprenticeships and jobs. • Young people regret having left school early because they see their lack of qualifications as a barrier to employment or further education/training. However, they generally see 'no way back' to second-level education to improve their prospects. No Way Back? The Dynamics of Early School Leaving

17. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support The Post-Primary Longitudinal Study has indicated the importance of informal advice, especially from parents, in decision making within second-level education (Smyth et al., 2007; Byrne and Smyth, forthcoming) McCoy et al. (2006), using School Leavers’ Survey data, similarly report that young people who leave school prior to Junior Certificate level are particularly unlikely to receive advice from school personnel, and much more likely to receive (and rely on) advice from informal sources, such as their parents, other family members or their friends. The data indicate that formal guidance from a guidance counsellor or teacher rises steadily according to the level of educational attainment. Furthermore, regardless of educational attainment, young males are more reliant on the advice of their parents while females are more likely to consider within-school advice, particularly from career guidance teachers. It was clear from the interviews with the early school leavers that communication with parents was an important aspect of the school-leaving decision. Practically all of the school leavers we spoke to had discussed the decision with their parents to some degree. • They find that 40 per cent of Junior Certificate school leavers report receiving advice from their Guidance Counsellor, rising to 50 per cent among those leaving during senior cycle and 82 per cent among Leaving Certificate holders.

18. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support In the context of limited resources, guidance provision is generally targeted at senior cycle students, with those who leave school early having little contact with the guidance counsellor (McCoy et al.,2006). It is evident that access to high quality career guidance is important for all young people. Such guidance should seek to ensure that young people and their families are aware of the short-term and the long-term implications of leaving school early. Guidance services in schools also have a potential role to play in providing support and referral for those young people who have experienced bereavement and other life trauma. Without such support, these young people may be unable to continue on in full-time education.

19. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Variables Affecting the Early school Leaver Profile • Prioritisation Checklist • Small Discussion Groups • Feedback

20. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Strategies under 16years :Left school before 16 or completing 3 years post primary • School completion • NBSS • Youth Work Provision • Home school Liaison • Alternative Education Programmes 12 -15 age period characterised by change physiological, social , psychological and emotional with the onset of puberty. Relationship with peers assumes a greater significance and importance in a young persons development. Personal and behavioural boundaries are continually challenged as the young person begin to assert their independence.

21. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support • Strategies Over 16: Left school before completing the leaving certificate • Youthreach/CTC • JobBridge • Tus • JobsPlus • Momentum • BTEA (excl Momentum) • BTWEA • VTOS • FAS/Solas • CEB youth Entrepreneurship Training and Mentoring supports • CEB/MFI micro-loans for young people • International Work Experience and Training • Gateway • Community Employment • PLCs • Apprenticeship • Vocational Third Level Young people in the 15 + age groups are quickly changing as they approach adulthood. They need and ask for more independence as well as privacy. They have a heightened awareness of body image and are concerned about appearances and social dynamics. They are able to and enjoy exploring abstract or complex issues.

22. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Youth Work • "a planned programme of education designed for the purpose of aiding and enhancing the personal and social development of young persons through their voluntary participation, and which is complementary to their formal, academic or vocational education and training; and provided primarily by voluntary youth work organisations." (Youth Work Act, 2001)

23. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support Youth Work Option • Supportive to school • Cost Effective • Existing structures (ETB Youth Officers) • Existing Youth Organisations (Foroige, Youth Work Ireland Etc) • Professional trained staff • Continues after school and during holidays

24. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support ALTERNATIVE LEARNING PROGRAMME • Attendance • Communication • Punctuality • Participation • Contribution to group • Checking and Following Instructions A place is maintained through a fortnightly individual interview /scoring/ presentation process

25. Early School Leavers- Strategies and Support FEEDBACK