Arthur Morgan (Louth, Sinn Fein)
Link to this: Individually | In context

Question 106: To ask the Minister for Education and Science her proposals to ensure that teachers are attracted to taking up employment in schools in areas of high disadvantage and for teachers to remain in such employment. [5047/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context

DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion provides for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and an integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The new plan is the outcome of the first full review of all programmes for tackling educational disadvantage that have been put in place over the past twenty years.

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.

Under the new NDP, some €361m is being made available under the DEIS and Early Education Sub Programme to combat disadvantage in primary and secondary schools serving communities with concentrated levels of disadvantage. The DEIS provision is in addition to existing annual educational disadvantage funding for primary and second-level schools of some €140m.

The key principle of early intervention underpins the early childhood education measure, the literacy and numeracy measures and those to tackle early school leaving being adopted under the new action plan. Also central to the success of the action plan will be an increased emphasis on planning at school and school cluster level, target-setting and measurement of progress and outcomes to ensure that the increased investment is matched by an improvement in educational outcomes for the children and young people concerned.

There is a need to ensure that schools participating in DEIS can continue to attract and retain well qualified personnel to positions of leadership and teaching on an ongoing basis. While all the supports, both human and financial, which are being provided under the action plan will contribute to achieving this objective, a number of specific measures are being implemented on a phased basis in support of it. Targeted class size reductions of 20:1 in junior classes and 24:1 in senior classes has been implemented in all 190 urban/town primary schools in DEIS. In addition, administrative principals have been allocated to all 338 urban/town primary schools in DEIS on lower enrolment and staffing figures than apply in primary schools generally.

A sabbatical leave scheme is also being introduced to create opportunities for principals and teachers, who have served for a defined period in a school participating in DEIS, to apply to undertake a period of development to enhance their own learning and effectiveness, and bring subsequent benefits to their students and their school. Access to this scheme will be extended to all DEIS schools on a phased basis and will provide for around 50 sabbaticals annually.

Principals, teachers and other personnel in schools participating in DEIS will require professional development support to enable them to effectively implement the new approaches required and to make optimum use of the supplementary resources made available under the DEIS action plan. Consequently, a new initiative on pre-service and in-service professional development will be designed and implemented on a phased basis.

Professional development for principals in schools participating in DEIS, including programmes supporting the development of skills in the areas of strategic leadership and change management, with the assistance of the Leadership Development in Schools programme. I believe that the inclusive, proactive approach being adopted under the DEIS action plan and the specific measures that I have outlined will ensure that there will be no shortage of committed and motivated staff.