Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1615: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the way some primary and secondary schools within the same catchment or feeder area will gain or lose disadvantaged status under the new integrated schools support programme under the DEIS scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1871/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1617: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if all future initiatives targeting educational disadvantage will be focused solely on DEIS schools; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1873/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1620: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the position of the schools excluded from DEIS from September 2007; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1876/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1621: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will immediately review and address the anomalies in the new integrated schools support programme under the DEIS scheme which have been outlined nationwide by schools, both national and secondary; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1877/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1632: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if a school (details supplied) in County Mayo will be allowed to retain its disadvantage status after the 2006 to 2007 school year; if she will reconsider this school for inclusion under DEIS; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1889/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1615, 1617, 1620, 1621 and 1632 together.

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

The new action plan represents a shift in emphasis away from individual initiatives, each addressing a particular aspect of the problem, with the new plan adopting a multi-faceted and more integrated approach. This is the first time that an integrated educational inclusion strategy has been developed for 3-18 year olds in this country. Targeting resources at the most disadvantaged schools who are working to counteract educational disadvantage will continue to be a priority for the Government.

The process of identifying schools for participation in DEIS 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.

A review mechanism was put in place to address the concerns of schools that did not qualify for inclusion in DEIS but regarded themselves as having a level of disadvantage which was of a scale sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the programme. The review process operated 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. The closing date for receipt of review applications was 31 March, 2006. The Group submitted a report and the review is now concluded. Schools who applied for a review were informed of the outcome in August, 2006.

As a result of the identification and review process, 873 schools have been included under the DEIS action plan. These comprised 670 primary schools and 203 second-level schools. Schools which have not qualified for inclusion in DEIS and which are receiving additional resources under pre-existing schemes for addressing disadvantage, can be assured that they will continue to receive support in line with their level of disadvantage.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1616: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will immediately review the DEIS in view of the fact that there is no continuation of support for the students or parents and families of students progressing from primary to secondary level. [1872/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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Enhancing attendance, progression, retention and attainment are central to DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools) the action plan for educational inclusion, which is being implemented at present in 873 schools comprising 670 primary schools (338 urban/town schools and 332 rural schools) and 203 second-level schools. This represents a shift in emphasis away from individual initiatives, each addressing a particular aspect of the problem, with the new plan adopting a multi-faceted and more integrated approach. This is the first time that an integrated educational inclusion strategy has been developed for 3-18 year olds in this country.

The key principle of early intervention, to identify and help children at risk of leaving school early, is a major component of DEIS, with a continuing emphasis being placed on the development of effective transfer programmes for pupils making the transition to second-level, by building on the existing work of the HSCL scheme and the School Completion Programme in this area.

The School Completion Programme was established to directly target those in danger of dropping out of the education system and is a key component of my Department's strategy to discriminate positively in favour of children and young people who are at risk of early school leaving. In line with current thinking, the Programme favours an integrated cross-community and cross-sectoral approach based on the development of local strategies to ensure maximum participation levels in the education process. It entails targeting individual young people, both in and out of school, and arranging supports to address inequalities in educational access, participation and outcomes. A key component of the School Completion Programme (SCP) is developing strong links between primary and post-primary schools in disadvantaged areas.

The Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) Scheme is a key intervention to improve the educational outcomes of children from disadvantaged areas by promoting active cooperation between their parents and teachers and encouraging community involvement. Through their work with parents, HSCL officers seek to raise parents' awareness of the need to encourage their children to work hard at school and to help parents to improve their own capacities to enhance their children's educational progress and to assist them in developing relevant skills.

Progression from primary to second-level is recognised as a crucial transition period in a child's education. Initiatives such as Familiarisation Days and week-long transfer programmes for new entrants to second level have been shown to have very positive results in helping children to make a smooth transition to their new school. The strengthening of such programmes are being prioritised under DEIS.

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1618: To ask the Minister for Education and Science if she will immediately introduce a fair review of all schools currently excluded from DEIS using agreed and internationally approved criteria; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1874/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1619: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the rationale for selecting data, particularly in relation to medical cards that is seriously outdated, when the DEIS initiative was rolled out; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1875/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1622: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason her Department chose a set of primary indicators for disadvantage in the new integrated schools support programme under the DEIS scheme that are out of line with international practice; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1878/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1623: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the reason pupil achievement and retention is being used as a primary indicator for disadvantage in the new integrated schools support programme under the DEIS scheme in view of the fact that these indicators fail to recognise the more basic social and economic indicators; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [1879/07]

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 1644: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the situation which exists in Achill Island, County Mayo, where all 11 primary feeder schools on the island are included in the DEIS scheme; the reason only one of the two post-primary schools on the island has been included in the DEIS scheme; her views on whether this situation urgently needs to be addressed and reviewed; if this is an example of the discrimination involved with the required criteria for inclusion in the DEIS scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2046/07]

Jerry Cowley (Mayo, Independent)
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Question 1645: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the situation which exists in Erris, north County Mayo, where all 20 primary feeder schools in the region are included in the DEIS scheme; the reason only one of the two post-primary schools in this isolated disadvantaged region has been included in the DEIS scheme; her views on whether this situation urgently needs to be addressed and reviewed; if this is an example of the discrimination involved with the required criteria for inclusion in the DEIS scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [2055/07]

Michael Ring (Mayo, Fine Gael)
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Question 1698: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the necessary steps to ensure that a national school is recognised as existing in a disadvantaged area. [2451/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 1618, 1619, 1622, 1623, 1644, 1645 and 1698 together.

DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion, provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and a new integrated School Support Programme (SSP). DEIS 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 DEIS 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.

The ERC's overall approach was guided by the definition of educational disadvantage in the Education Act (1998), section 32(9), as: " — the impediments to education arising from social or economic disadvantage which prevent students from deriving appropriate benefit from education in schools".

In the primary sector, the identification process was based on a survey carried out by the ERC in May 2005, from which a response rate of more than 97% was achieved. The analysis of the survey returns from primary schools by the ERC identified the socio-economic variables that collectively best predict achievement, and these variables were then used to identify schools for participation in the School Support Programme. The variables involved were: % unemployment; % local authority accommodation; % lone parenthood; % Travellers; % large families (5 or more children); % pupils eligible for free books.

In the case of second-level schools, the Department supplied the ERC with centrally-held data from the Post-Primary Pupils and State Examinations Commission databases. Based on an analysis of these data, the variables used to determine eligibility for inclusion in the School Support Programme were as follows: Medical card data for Junior Certificate candidates (including Junior Certificate School Programme candidates); Junior Certificate retention rates by school; Junior Certificate exam results aggregated to school level (expressed as an OPS — "Overall Performance Scale" — score). This was based on each student's performance in the seven subjects in which s/he performed best — Leaving Certificate retention rates by school.

The identification process was in line with international best practice and had regard to and employed the exiting and most appropriate data sources available. A review mechanism was put in place to address the concerns of some schools that did not qualify for inclusion in DEIS but regarded themselves as having a level of disadvantage of a scale sufficient to warrant their inclusion in the programme. As a result of the identification and review process, 873 schools have been included under the DEIS initiative. These comprised 670 primary schools (338 urban schools and 332 rural schools) and 203 second level schools.

The review process operated 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. The review Group submitted a final report and the review process is now concluded.

Questions Nos. 1620 and 1621 answered with Question No. 1615.

Questions Nos. 1622 and 1623 answered with Question No. 1618.