John McGuinness (Carlow-Kilkenny, Fianna Fail)
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Question 634: To ask the Minister for Education and Science the extra educational and student supports and staff granted to a school (details supplied) in County Kilkenny on the inclusion of the school in the DEIS programme, which it did not enjoy prior to the inclusion; if an extra teacher and learning support teacher will be granted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [12951/07]

Mary Hanafin (Dún Laoghaire, Fianna Fail)
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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). The SSP 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.

As a result of the identification and review process, 873 schools have been included under the DEIS action plan. These comprise 670 primary schools and 203 second-level schools. The school referred to by the Deputy is among the schools identified for inclusion in Band 2 of DEIS. During the roll out of the DEIS initiative, schools included in Band 2 of the new programme will benefit from the following range of measures:

allocation of administrative principals on lower enrolment and staffing figures than apply in primary schools generally;

additional non-pay/capitation allocation based on level of disadvantage;

additional funding under school books grant scheme targeted primarily at supporting the establishment, development and ongoing operation of book loan/rental schemes; access to the School Meals Programme;

access to a literacy/numeracy support service and to specific literacy/numeracy measures such as Reading Recovery, Maths Recovery and First Steps;

access to Home/School/Community Liaison services;

access to a range of supports (both academic and non-academic, and including after-school and holiday-time supports) for young people, based on best practice identified through the School Completion Programme;

access to transfer programmes supporting progression from primary to second-level;

access to planning supports;

access to a range of professional development supports and

eligibility for teachers/principals to apply for sabbatical leave scheme.

The Deputy will be aware that my Department implemented a General Allocation system of learning support/resource teachers to mainstream primary schools in September 2005. The system is intended to cater for children with high-incidence special education needs such as mild general learning disability and those with learning support needs. My Department issued a comprehensive circular, SP ED 02/05 to schools which provides guidelines on the manner in which they should use the resources that have been allocated to them to best effect.

Schools considered as most disadvantaged when the model was introduced were those eligible for additional staffing under the urban dimension of the Giving Children an Even Break Scheme. Those schools have a preferential pupil/teacher allocation ratio of 80:1 for their general allocation. That remains the case. The school referred to here does not qualify for an increase in general allocation under the DEIS programme. However, as stated in my Department's circular 0036/2006, schools may qualify for an increase in general allocation where they have been given a developing post. I can confirm that the school in question was awarded a developing post for the current school year. It does not appear, however, to have submitted a request for its general allocation to be reviewed on this basis.

It is open to the school to submit details of its enrolment at 30th September 2006, together with a copy of my Department's letter granting developing status, to General Allocations Section in Athlone where the matter will be considered.