Katherine Zappone (Dublin South West, Independent) | Oireachtas source

First, I want to welcome the publication of the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools plan 2017. The DEIS plan aims to achieve a more robust assessment framework for identifying schools and allocating resources. It also seeks to support best practice in schools through inter-agency collaboration. The educational welfare service of Tusla will be very important in this regard. The implementation of these and other key goals in the plan will lead to an improved learning experience and outcomes for pupils attending DEIS schools.

The educational welfare service of Tusla, officials from the Department of Children and Youth Affairs, and the Department of Education and Skills will be meeting in the coming weeks to discuss the inclusion in the school completion programme of schools that have been included in the DEIS programme for the first time in 2017. The group will also examine schools that are currently in the school completion programme but do not have DEIS status. Following these meetings, proposals will be developed and given to me for consideration. I anticipate that any changes that may result from this process will not come into effect until September 2018 at the earliest. In this regard, the educational welfare service has confirmed that no changes are planned in relation to the school completion programme for the 2017-18 school year. No new schools are entering or leaving the programme.

The Department of Children and Youth Affairs continues to work with the educational welfare service to implement the recommendations of the Economic and Social Research Institute report on the school completion programme and to make sure that children and young people get the best outcome possible for our investment. Tusla has taken a number of actions to address the findings of that report and to strengthen the operation of the programme for the future.

I am strongly committed to the continued support and development of the school completion programme. I believe that the new DEIS plan will play a valuable role in that regard.

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