To ask the Minister of Education (i) what analysis has been carried out to assess the benefits of the Engage II Programme in terms of learning outcomes; and (ii) what programme will follow on from Engage II in 2022/23.

The Education and Training Inspectorate (ETI) published an evaluation report on 21 December 2021 evaluating the Engage Programme in primary and post-primary schools during the 2020/21 academic year. A copy of the report is available on my Department’s website:

www.etini.gov.uk/publications/evaluation-department-educations-engage-programme-primary-and-post-primary-schools.

The report detailed how schools provided effective intervention programmes for pupils whose learning was impacted adversely by the COVID-19 pandemic. A further report is being developed by the ETI for the second year of the Engage programme.

Engage has ensured that our children and young people have been provided with a range of support to reduce the impact which the Covid-19 pandemic has had on their educational experience and learning.

As regards a third year of the programme in the 2022/23 academic year, I have issued a Direction to my officials for the Engage programme to continue to December 2022. The Department of Finance approved that Direction on 6 July 2022, and I am delighted that I have been able to allocate £10million to continue the programme until the end of December 2022. I have recently written to schools and settings to inform them.

It is my intention that the programme will continue until the end of the academic year. However, as this remains subject to the necessary funding being made available, settings are not able to commit to expenditure beyond December 2022. I will update schools on the budget position for the rest of the academic year as soon as I am in a position to do so.