Ms M?ir?n N? Ch?ileachair:

I will bring this question back to primary level, where DEIS has served us very well. Recent studies, in the past year in particular, have shown the success of DEIS.

I acknowledge that there has been a great focus on literacy and numeracy in DEIS schools and this is an opportune time now to widen that perspective. We are consulting at the moment on a literacy, numeracy and digital literacy strategy. That is one of the timely opportunities to focus on the digital literacy skills in all schools but also in DEIS schools.

The development of the new primary school curriculum will also help with the subject specifications as they will be configured. We can now look at a focus, which will probably be wider than it has been heretofore, especially with STEM. Rather than having just a mathematics curriculum, we can have a mathematics and STEM curriculum in the junior classes and a STEM curriculum in the senior classes in primary school.

I worked for many years in Tallaght and, in respect of DEIS schools, not only does industry need to engage with the DEIS school communities but third level also needs to do so. For many years, pupils from Tallaght were not aware that there was a college down the road and across from The Square. Most of the students in IT Tallaght, as it was at the time, were from outside of the Tallaght area. That engagement needs to happen. Fourth class level is a very influential stage for primary school pupils where they need to see the possibilities for further education, be it academic or apprenticeship, at that stage. Transition or fifth year is too late.