Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail) | Oireachtas source

The DEIS programme is a key policy initiative of the Department to address specifically concentrated areas of educational disadvantage at school level. The Department now spends over €180 million annually providing additional supports to just under 1,200 schools in the DEIS programme. This includes an additional €32 million allocated following the announcement to extend the programme from September 2022. This means that approximately 240,000 students, or one in four of all our students, are now availing of DEIS supports.

Within the DEIS programme, 306 primary schools with the highest levels of educational disadvantage are included in DEIS urban band 1. In my time as Minister, I have provided three improvements to the staffing allocation for these schools. DEIS urban band 1 schools receive access to an enhanced staffing allocation of one teacher for every 17 pupils for junior schools, one teacher for every 19 pupils for combined schools and one teacher for every 21 pupils for senior schools. This means that children in DEIS urban band 1 schools have more contact time with their teachers. DEIS urban band 1 schools also have access to the support of home school community liaison co-ordinators, access to the school completion programme and receive additional funding by way of a DEIS grant.

The National Educational Psychological Service, NEPS, provides priority access to its services for schools in this DEIS band. School leaders and teachers in these schools also receive priority access to professional learning through Oide to support them to meet the needs of their pupils. Evidence shows that the DEIS programme has been successful in improving the outcomes for students in schools with higher concentrations of educational disadvantage. For example, the number of children completing the leaving certificate in DEIS schools has closed significantly on the number in non-DEIS schools since the DEIS programme began.

However, I am aware of the proposal referred to by the Deputy and I have met with a selection of the principals of the schools involved. I recognise that more work is required to ensure that all children, regardless of background, have the opportunity to achieve their potential in education. That is why the Department has undertaken a programme of work to explore the allocation of resources to schools to address educational disadvantage.

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