Written answers

Tuesday, 24 March 2009

Department of Education and Science

Disadvantaged Status

9:00 pm

Photo of Finian McGrathFinian McGrath (Dublin North Central, Independent)
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Question 1019: To ask the Minister for Education and Science his views in respect of a school (details supplied) in County Galway. [10844/09]

Photo of Seán HaugheySeán Haughey (Dublin North Central, Fianna Fail)
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The post primary school to which the Deputy refers was among a number of schools that was judged by an independent identification process in 2005 not to have a sufficient level of disadvantage among their pupils to warrant their inclusion in DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion. The next identification process is scheduled to be held at the end of the current DEIS programme which runs from 2005 to 2010.

A review mechanism was put in place in 2006 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 procedures were properly followed in the case of schools applying for a review. The review was concluded and the results were notified to schools in August 2006. The post primary school in question appealed its non-inclusion in DEIS but their appeal was unsuccessful.

Following the introduction of DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools), a commitment was given, as a concessionary measure, to Non-DEIS schools in receipt of resources under pre-existing schemes, including the Home School Community Liaison (HSCL) service, that they would retain a level of support in line with their size and disadvantage levels for the duration of the DEIS Initiative.

Given the current volatile and challenging economic climate, difficult choices had to be made in order to contain public sector spending. One of these decisions is the withdrawal of the HSCL services from all Non-DEIS schools with effect from September 2009. The schools mentioned by the Deputy will lose its HSCL services at the end of the current school year.

The main focus of Social Inclusion measures will be to retain resources in DEIS schools. There is a need to focus targeted resources on the schools in most need and this approach is in line with the broad thrust of the recommendations of the Comptroller and Auditor General which are set out in his report on Primary Disadvantage of 2006, which recommended that my Department should focus its educational disadvantage measures on those schools serving the most disadvantaged communities.

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