SCP

School Completion Programme

The School Completion Programme (SCP) is a targeted programme of support for primary and post primary children and young people who have been identified as potentially at risk of early school leaving or who are out of school and have not successfully transferred to an alternative learning site (i.e. Youthreach, Community Training Centre etc.) or employment.  It is a support under the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme, funded by Tusla Education Support Services (tess). SCP aims to retain a young person to completion of the leaving certificate, equivalent qualification or suitable level of educational attainment which enables them to transition into further education, training or employment.

There are 122 SCP projects covering 467 primary and 222 post-primary schools. Annual programme funding is 24.7m.

The SCP is one of three strands of Tusla Education Support Service (tess) including the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme and the Educational Welfare Service. All three strands share the same national outcomes:

  • Improved Attendance
  • Improved Participation
  • Improved Retention

What was the aim of your implementation?

The implementation started because two projects within the SCP needed software for their student progress registration. A more standardized but also flexible option to document student progress was required. A second goal was to simplify reporting options for project coordinators. 

The approach and progress of the project

Based on several discussions with the 2 project coordinators , a prototype was built that they started working with. While working, improvements were made and even the original structure was modified and improved. When we showed the solution to a number of other SCPs, a number of new projects joined and also wanted to start working with the software. 

What has been CiviCooP's role: before, during and after implementation?

CiviCooP set up the configuration for the Student Tool based on input from the participating SCPs. We also provide a new environment per implementation, the specific setup for each project and training. As new requirements arise with use, CiviCooP also sets those up and takes care of distribution to the individual SCPs. CiviCooP also provides day-to-day support for end-users. 

What role does CiviCRM play now?

For the participating SCPs, CiviCRM is the central software in which everything relating to pupils/clients of the SCP is recorded and from which reports are generated. Reports are sent to both legal guardians / parents and the responsible authority. 

CiviCase, the component that is used mostly, provides exactly the functionality that supports most of the functional requirements that each project worker has when working with pupils/students.

Some of the latest joining projects have requested for additional functionality, that is being developed. When finished, that will also be made available to the original projects.