Stephen Donnelly (Wicklow, Independent)
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Question 184: To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the criteria under which DEIS schools are classified as either DEIS rural or DEIS urban; the procedure for seeking a reclassification for a formerly rural school which has become urbanised due to urban sprawl; and the time taken for this process to be complete. [12611/12]

Ruairi Quinn (Dublin South East, Labour)
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DEIS (Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools), the action plan for educational inclusion, provided for a standardised system for identifying levels of disadvantage and an integrated School Support Programme (SSP). The process of identifying schools for participation in DEIS was managed by the Educational Research Centre (ERC) on behalf of the Department and supported by quality assurance work co-ordinated through the Department's regional offices and the Inspectorate. There are 864 schools in DEIS. These comprise 669 primary schools (198 Urban Band 1, 144 Urban Band 2 and 327 Rural) and 195 second-level schools.

Band 1 schools are those 198 urban/town primary schools with the highest concentrations of disadvantage. Primary schools serving rural communities, including towns with populations below 1,500, are designated as Rural. The indicators used in identifying schools for participation in DEIS took into account the differences between urban and rural disadvantage.

While a key priority for me is to continue to prioritise and target resources at schools with the most concentrated levels of educational disadvantage, the current economic climate and the challenge to meet significant targets on reducing public expenditure, particularly given the upward pressures on teacher numbers and in the context of operating under a fixed ceiling on teacher numbers affords no capacity to provide for additionality to the DEIS programme, including reclassification from rural to urban.