Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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10. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the status of the DEIS plus appeal by a school (details supplied); when this school can expect to be notified of the outcome; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [54075/26]

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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When DEIS plus schools were announced in May, St. Joseph's and St. Michael's in Longford town were rightly included. However, Sacred Heart school in Granard, despite sharing the same DEIS history and facing significant educational disadvantage, was excluded and is now awaiting the outcome of an appeal. Could the Minister please outline how the appeal is being considered and when Sacred Heart school, Granard can expect a decision?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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Addressing educational disadvantage and ensuring that every child and young person can reach their full potential is a key priority for me as Minister for Education and Youth. The introduction of the DEIS plus scheme will provide enhanced supports to a small cohort of schools with the very highest concentration of students at risk of educational disadvantage.

Schools were identified for inclusion in DEIS plus through a nationally consistent, evidence-based identification model which drew on a range of indicators associated with persistent and intergenerational disadvantage. The model was applied uniformly across all eligible schools to ensure a fair and objective process.

Recognising the importance of accuracy and fairness, schools that were not satisfied with the outcome were afforded an opportunity to appeal in line with the arrangements set out by the Department. The appeal process allowed schools to correct inaccuracies in enrolment data or seek verification that the DEIS plus identification model had been correctly applied to their data. All appeals submitted by schools, including the one referred to by the Deputy, are undergoing a detailed technical review in accordance with the published criteria. The outcomes of the review are independently verified by an appeals panel with expertise in data analysis, education policy and educational disadvantage, providing an additional layer of assurance regarding the integrity and consistency of the process.

It would be inappropriate for me to comment on the result of any individual appeal in advance of the completion of that process. That process will be completed in the coming days and schools will be notified of the outcome of their appeal. I do also recognise however, that some schools are operating in the context of complex local pressures that cannot currently be fully reflected in the DEIS plus identification model. At present, the model must use data from the online enrolment databases and the HP index in order to be based on data that are available nationally and consistently for all schools. I will come back in again.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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This is about fairness and equity. The Minister mentioned the HP deprivation index. In the HP index, Granard scores higher than seven out of the ten areas that have been chosen in Longford. This does not make sense. Sacred Heart has been a DEIS band 1 school for 20 years. Since then, the demand on the school has increased dramatically. There are now 255 pupils, three autism classes, an early intervention class, a large number of pupils learning English as an additional language and many families experiencing significant disadvantage, as reflected in the HP deprivation index. The principal, Francis Gray, and the staff do extraordinary work but they are truly stretched to the limit. The additional supports that would come with DEIS plus, the extra leadership, enhanced family supports and the additional educational resources would make a real and tangible difference to the children that this school educates. Could the Minister confirm that the criteria that are being applied to this appeal includes both the current circumstances of the school alongside the historical data?

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The identification model has to be applied consistently right across the country to have fairness and transparency around it. Under the DEIS strategy to 2035, work is under way in my Department, with colleagues in the Central Statistics Office and across other Departments, to utilise other administrative data sources to help improve how we can resource schools in a targeted way to support children and young people at risk of disadvantage.

The appeals process allows schools to correct any inaccuracies in enrolment data or to seek verification that the DEIS plus identification model had been correctly applied. It was limited to the enrolment data. If there is other information that might be relevant to that particular locality, they could not take that on board because it would not have been consistently applied right across the country. We need to make sure that we have a sense of fairness.

I hear concerns, and not just in relation to that particular school. We all know there is educational disadvantage right across the country. My Department is working with the CSO to look at even better ways to capture this data. I would love to be in a position to maybe not call a school a DEIS school but to be able to apply the supports as needed and as intensively as required right across the country.

Sorca Clarke (Longford-Westmeath, Sinn Fein)
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I agree with the Minister on the issue of consistency. I do not believe anybody in this House would argue against schools with the greatest need having the greatest level of support. However, the issue in Granard is that this school has faced the same challenges as every other school in Longford that has been chosen as a DEIS school for the past 20 years, yet it is not being considered as part of the scheme. There is a lack of consistency and fairness. This school has been left waiting while the other schools have moved ahead, despite facing the same, if not more and greater challenges than those which have progressed to DEIS plus.

I know the Minister is going to say "No" when I ask her this but I am going to ask her. Will the Minister personally have a look at this file? Are there some learnings the Minister and her Department can take from this situation so that no other school is left in this position? If Sacred Heart meets that threshold for DEIS plus, can the Minister ensure it receives that designation without any further unnecessary delay? This is causing profound concern across not just the town of Granard but across the towns this school in very rural north Longford serves and for the parents of the kids they know need those additional supports and could benefit from those additional supports.

Hildegarde Naughton (Galway West, Fine Gael)
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The appeals process is underway at the moment. It will be announced shortly. I am not involved in that. It is independently being assessed. There is an identification model. It has to be done fairly and transparently. For that reason, the appeal process was limited to enrolment data which underpins the model. That is through the primary online database, POD, system and the post-primary online database, P-POD, system. That appeals process does not allow for the submission of contextual information. A rules-based national model has to consider all schools on the same basis. It cannot substitute locally held knowledge for data that are not available or comparable nationwide. Incorporating local level indicators or qualitative submissions where such information is not nationally available could create challenges around consistency, transparency and equality of treatment. The Department is committed to ensuring that all schools are treated equally.

I hear the Deputy's concerns. I will come back to this question. This is the first phase of this DEIS plus programme. We are going to be looking at how this is rolled out from September onwards. I want to make sure - and that is why I set up a pilot as part of this - that certain schools that are not DEIS would access to a home school liaison co-ordinator. I appreciate there are schools that have educational disadvantage. We need to be able to respond to that with the evidence and data.