To ask the Minister of Education to detail any assessments that have been carried out on the availability of extracurricular and after-school activities for young people in rural areas.

The Extended Schools Programme (ESP) represents the largest provision of after-school activities funded by my Department. There are currently over 120 schools in rural areas participating in the ESP. The Education Authority (EA) produces annual ESP reports that provide summary information and evaluations of programme delivery in schools. However, no specific assessments have been carried out to evaluate delivery in rural areas.

Outside of the ESP, the provision of extracurricular and after-school activities is a matter for individual schools. Neither the EA nor my Department collects data on these activities, so no assessment of their availability in rural areas has been carried out.