David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 233: To ask the Minister for Education and Science further to adjournment debate matter of 28 March 2006, if the new identification process has been put in place for primary schools where the level of disadvantage is most dispersed; if so, the details of same; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23126/06]

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 235: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she has made a decision with reference to an adjournment matter raised by this Deputy on 28 March 2006 regarding the need to recognise a school (details supplied) in County Cork under the DEIS initiative; if she has made further decisions in this regard; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23128/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 233 and 235 together.

The school to which the Deputy refers is not among the primary schools selected for participation in the School Support Programme under the new action plan for educational inclusion, DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) and is not participating in any of the pre-existing schemes for addressing educational disadvantage.

The school submitted a review application under the review mechanism which has been put in place to address the concerns of schools that did not qualify for inclusion in the School Support Programme but regard themselves as having a level of disadvantage which is of a scale sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the Programme. This mechanism will operate under the direction of an independent person, charged with ensuring that all relevant identification processes and procedures were properly followed in the case of schools applying for a review.

It is intended that the review process will be completed by the end of the current school year. In addition to the provision being made under the new School Support Programme for schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage, under DEIS, financial support will also continue to be provided for other primary schools where the level of disadvantage is more dispersed. This support will be based on the results of the identification process completed under DEIS and schools will receive support in line with the level of disadvantage among their pupils. The arrangements which will apply in this regard will be notified to schools early in the autumn.

David Stanton (Cork East, Fine Gael)
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Question 234: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the number of review applications she has received under the review process put in place for primary and second level schools that did not qualify for participation in the schools' support programme and that regard themselves as having a level of disadvantage which is of a scale sufficient to warrant inclusion in the programme; when she will make public a decision as a result of the review process; the independent person who was to be appointed to direct the operation of the review process; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [23127/06]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools, DEIS, the action plan for educational inclusion, provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The School Support Programme will bring together, and build upon, a number of existing interventions in schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage.

The process of identifying primary and second-level schools for participation in the SSP was managed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of my Department and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through the Department's regional offices and the Inspectorate. As a result of the identification process, 840 schools were invited to participate in the SSP. These comprised 640 primary schools (320 urban/town schools and 320 rural schools) and 200 second-level schools. I am delighted to say that 833 of the schools invited to join the new programme accepted the invitation.

A review process has been put in place for primary and second-level schools that did not qualify for participation in the SSP and that regard themselves as having a level of disadvantage which is of a scale sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the Programme. The closing date for receipt of review applications was Friday, 31st March, 2006. Over 360 review applications from schools have been received.

The review process is under way and is directed by Dr. Seamus McGuinness, who is being supported in processing review applications by a nominated staff member from the Educational Research Centre (ERC) and a nominated staff member from my Department's Social Inclusion Unit. The review process applies only to those primary schools that participated in the ERC survey in May 2005 and only to those eligible second-level schools for which data were available from the relevant databases. Review requests must be evidence-based and based on the variables and reference dates used in the identification process for the SSP. It is anticipated that the review process will be completed before the end of the current school year.