SOLAS, the state agency responsible for Further Education and Training (FET), has announced over €250,000 in funding to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB (DDLETB), to support marginalised learners to access community education programmes in local communities, through €5 million distributed in the national Reach Fund. The funding allocation will support 2,500 learners across the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire area to access and participate in local community education provision including online learning, literacy and basic skills programmes, providing social supports to the most vulnerable groups in the local communities.
The funding allocated to Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB will be used by local organisations to deliver initiatives with the support of local FET services. One such initiative is the “Family Literacy Digital Skills Project”, where the Blanchardstown Adult Education Service has linked with the Home School Community Liaison service of a local school, Scoil Mhuire. This project will address the needs of those parents in schools who have difficulties in accessing and utilising communication ‘apps’. In digital literacy classes, parents will become familiar with all the different software used in the schools. This will improve the parents’ capacity to engage in the school community in relation to their child’s education. Initiatives such as this enable learners to take the first small steps towards engaging with the opportunities that exist for them in further education, higher education, and employment.
Speaking on the allocation of Reach Funding across Ireland Minister Patrick O’Donovan (TD said: “The impact of Reach Funding over the past four years is evident. Originally introduced in 2020 to support the most disadvantaged learners throughout the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, it now provides important funds to assist Dublin and Dún Laoghaire ETB, and community education providers to increase their capacity and ensure that they can support the participation of disadvantaged learners within their communities.”
Siobhán Lynch Director of Further Education & Training for DDLETB said: “We are delighted to receive over €250,000 in funding to support community education providers in Dublin and Dún Laoghaire. This vital funding will go a long way to support some of the hardest-to-reach people in our local communities. A key focus for the use of the funding is to help build digital infrastructure in our local region and the use of innovative programmes to support targeted disadvantaged learner cohorts. The Reach Fund often enhances existing community education provision and enables us to continue delivering access to learning opportunities for our diverse communities.”
The Reach Fund complements the work done for many years by DDLETB’s Community Education services. Community education services were established in 2003, and in that time the work done with community partners has significantly extended DDLETB’s reach and provision in disadvantaged communities across the county.
In addition, ETBs around the country have supported thousands of initiatives to receive Reach Funding since 2020. This has also helped to empower learners, build digital infrastructures to foster inclusion and support learning in the Dublin and Dún Laoghaire region and across Ireland. It has helped to develop safe learning spaces, address the digital divide, build stronger learning communities, and increase the capacity of community education organisations across local communities.
Andrew Brownlee, CEO of SOLAS, the Further Education and Training Authority, said: “Community education plays a critical and unique role in the FET system, and in local communities in Dublin and Dún Laoghaire, and across Ireland. It offers local, accessible, and welcoming learning opportunities for individuals which can support them to achieve their personal, social, and educational goals. We are delighted to continue to offer Reach funding in 2024 and we have seen first-hand the difference that it is making through DDLETB and across the country to support those who need it the most.”
Since 2020, over 2,300 individual projects have been supported through the Reach Fund and demand is growing year on year. This is testament to the incredible work that is happening at local level by ETBs and community partners as they work to tackle barriers that prevent learners from accessing education and support them to re-engage and participate with local provision.”
