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A heartfelt congratulations to Dr. Cormac Forkan for his pivotal role in leading the evaluation of Rethink Ireland’s Education, Youth, and Children & Youth Funds.

A recent report from this evaluation by University of Galway, in partnership with Rethink Ireland, advocates for a fundamental shift in how young people's wellbeing is understood and supported through education and youth mental health initiatives across Ireland.​

Despite targeted government policies, disparities in education and mental health outcomes persist among young people in Ireland. For instance, one in twelve students who begin secondary school do not complete their Leaving Certificate.​

To address these challenges, Rethink Ireland introduced three new Funds between 2017 and 2022: The Education Fund, the Youth Fund, and the Children and Youth Fund.​

An academic evaluation of these Funds was conducted by the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at University of Galway. The evaluation resulted in a Composite Report highlighting key learnings and outcomes, as well as a Youth Report summarising the findings in an accessible format for young people.

“Our research is the largest study ever conducted on alternative education in Ireland. The central thread running through the work of the awardees we evaluated was promoting the holistic wellbeing of the participants. The findings have allowed us to develop a new model for embedding sustainable wellbeing considerations into the policy and practice of education, alternative education and youth mental health provision” - Dr Cormac Forkan