Dr. Katriona O'Sullivan:

Let us base that view on evidence. Teachers are reporting it, and I am not saying it is not true. However, we need evidence. If children are happier in school, that is a metric in and of itself. Maybe that is what we should be assessing in the DEIS plan, rather than the other outcomes, in order to determine whether it is successful. At this point, I would contend that it is not succeeding according to its own aims.

Deputy McLoughlin has left, but he talked about the benefits of the DEIS plan for other students. I know he is not here to respond but I hear this view sometimes when I deal with people in affluent situations. I do not know how to say it without offending. They ask about their own children and claim that it is unfair that the DEIS children get more. They want the same resources for their own children. My answer to that is that they already have it. I wish they would shove off and get away from my resources. Those parents probably have a great parents' council that will provide extra money if a letter is sent out. Those better-off schools can use the model, which should be made public and shared with them. I worry when that rhetoric is deployed, because I have heard it many times. If more places are given to the poor children, what will happen to the children who are doing really well? I echo Dr. Bissett's views. We want to get rid of the idea of meritocracy.

I will finish with this point. I do not want Dr. Bissett to think I am not on board with him, because I am. Paulo Freire said that in order to change the oppressive system, one must infiltrate it, become part of it and learn its rules. That is what I am trying to do; learn the rules and infiltrate the system. However, I am on board with Dr. Bissett. The whole system needs to change, and we need to remove the concept of meritocracy altogether. However, that is probably never going to happen.