Written answers

Thursday, 16 November 2006

Department of Education and Science

Educational Disadvantage

5:00 pm

Photo of Ruairi QuinnRuairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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Question 161: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the grant assistance given to schools not eligible for the school support programme to assist them with their respective levels of dispersed disadvantage; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [38299/06]

Photo of Mary HanafinMary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the new action plan for educational inclusion provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The DEIS plan states that as well as provision being made for schools with a concentrated level of disadvantage, financial support will also continue to be provided for other primary schools, not identified for inclusion in the DEIS initiative, where the level of disadvantage is more dispersed.

DEIS is designed to ensure that the schools serving the most disadvantaged communities benefit from the maximum level of support available. Schools which have not qualified for inclusion in the DEIS initiative and which are receiving additional resources, both human and financial, under pre-existing schemes and programmes for addressing concentrated disadvantage, will retain these supports for 2006/2007. After that, schools will continue to get support in line with the level of disadvantage among their pupils.

As a result of the identification and review processes, 873 schools have been invited to participate in the new Programme. These comprise 670 primary schools (338 urban/town schools and 332 rural schools) and 203 second-level schools.

Grants due to the 670 Primary schools which are participating in the DEIS initiative will be lodged to their schools' bank accounts on 17 November 2006. This is in addition to payments totalling €1 million which issued to those schools in June 2006. Provision is also been made for the issue of grants in the case of the 203 Post Primary schools which are participating in the initiative.

In addition, approximately another 2,000 schools will receive rates of grant assistance to assist them with their respective levels of dispersed disadvantage, including those that are benefiting from previous schemes.

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