AQW 4439/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 11/10/2022
Answered On Date: 13/02/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education for an update on the Engage Programme.

Answer:

In an effort to offset the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Engage Programme was launched in September 2020 using Covid-19 funding provided by DoF and continued in 2021-22 and 2022-23. Over £57m in funding was allocated to settings across the three years of the programme.

The Engage programme aimed to limit any long-term adverse impact of COVID-19 by supporting pupils’ learning and engagement on their return to school/setting through provision of high quality one to one, small group or team teaching support in every school/setting in Northern Ireland. The Programme provided the flexibility and autonomy settings needed to meet the diverse needs of their pupils and allow them to address the effects of Covid-19. One of the key strengths of the programme is that was shaped by those delivering it on the ground, which allowed for the delivery of a range of interventions and approaches which resulted in increased confidence and motivation of thousands of pupils.

The 2023/24 budget allocation was extremely challenging for education and as a result the Department had to make significant savings from 1 April 2023. In this context the Engage programme was assessed as not realistically affordable and came to an end on 31 March 2023