Seán Crowe (Dublin South West, Sinn Fein)
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Question 80: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his views on the impact the present cuts are having on DEIS band 1 schools, and his further views on whether pupils and staff in these schools are suffering disproportionately when compared to those in schools servicing more affluent areas; how he proposes to balance the effects of this on the system; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [14658/11]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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I wish to advise the Deputy that there have been no specific cuts in the School Support Programme to DEIS Band 1 schools.

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). As a result of the identification and review processes, 876 schools (200 Post Primary Schools and 676 Primary Schools) are currently included in the School Support Programme (SSP) under DEIS. DEIS primary schools are further subdivided into three classifications to reflect rural and urban status and levels of disadvantage. The current list includes 200 Urban Band 1, 145 Urban Band 2 and 331 Rural Primary schools.

DEIS provides various supports for both primary and post primary schools. These include: reduced pupil teacher ratio in primary schools in urban areas with most disadvantage; allocation of administrative principal on lower figures than generally apply in primary schools in urban areas; additional capitation funding based on level of disadvantage; additional funding for schools books; access to the School Meals Programme; access to numeracy/literacy supports and measures at primary level; access to Home School Community Liaison services; access to the School Completion Programme; enhanced guidance counselling provision at post primary level; access to planning supports; provision for school library and librarian support in post primary schools with most disadvantage; access to the Junior Certificate School Programme and Leaving Certificate Applied; and access to a range of professional development supports.

The process of identifying schools for participation in DEIS, was managed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of the Department of Education & Skills and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through my Department's Regional Offices and the Inspectorate. The ERC's overall approach was guided by the definition of educational disadvantage set out in the Education Act (1998), as:

the impediments to education arising from social or economic disadvantage which prevent students from deriving appropriate benefit from education in schools.

While the identification variables selected are, either individually or taken together, reasonable indicators of social disadvantage, it is when they present in high concentrations that they best predict educational disadvantage. This is commonly referred to as the "social context effect".

The majority of Irish schools will include among their enrolments a number of children who exhibit one or a number of 'disadvantage' characteristics. In most cases the school will be equipped to meet the individual needs of these children from within existing resources.

Evidence from research strongly supports the view that educational disadvantage will occur, to the extent that supplementary supports will be necessary, in schools and school communities where socio-economic disadvantage is most concentrated.

DEIS supports and measures are designed to address the needs of schools who require significant additional resources to supplement and support the mainstream teachers where the enrolment consists of a high percentage of children from disadvantaged backgrounds.

The set of measures included in the National Recovery Plan 2011 to 2014 impacts on every sector of the public service and will unquestionably lead to significant challenges for schools as well as my Department in the coming years. The major challenge will undoubtedly be to seek improved outcomes for children with fewer resources. A key focus of my Department's Social Inclusion measures will be to retain resources, where possible, 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.