Ruth Coppinger (Dublin West, Socialist Party)
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1269. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills her views on the ESRI report "Leaving School in Ireland: a longitudinal study of post-school transitions"; and her position regarding the class divisions evident in the study and implications for Government policy. [33410/14]

Jan O'Sullivan (Limerick City, Labour)
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As the deputy is aware, the ESRI's report "Leaving School in Ireland" highlights that young people from working-class backgrounds were less likely than their middle class peers to go on to higher education. Young people who attended socially mixed schools and middle-class schools were more likely than those from working class schools to go on to some form of further education and training or higher education.

The DEIS programme is my Department's main policy initiative aimed at addressing educational disadvantage. All 849 primary and post primary schools, with a combined enrolment of over160,000 pupils, participating in DEIS receive a range of additional resources including additional staffing, funding, access to literacy and numeracy programmes and assistance with activities such as school planning.

Ongoing evaluation of the DEIS Programme shows that these supports are achieving improved learning outcomes with continuing gains in literacy and numeracy evident in longitudinal testing as well as improved attendance rates. Second level attainment levels are also improving in DEIS schools. The key DEIS supports of the Home School Community Liaison Scheme and the School Completion Programme, now delivered by TUSLA,promote child and family engagement with education and thereby achieve greater levels of participation and retention.

In addition, for almost two decades, there has been a strong focus in Ireland on achieving equity of access to higher education. Initiatives include the student grant system; the Fund for Students with Disabilities; the Student Assistance Fund; and the inclusion in the HEA funding allocation model of metrics which recognise and encourage institutional performance in relation to access. Estimated participation by target socio-economic groups has increased from 27% to 30% for those from non-manual worker backgrounds and from 33% to 36% for those from semi and unskilled worker backgrounds between 2005 and 2013.

The Report also highlights the importance of guidance provision. My Department recommends that guidance is a whole school responsibility, with guidance counsellors playing a key role within the overall school team approach. Where possible, group work and class based activity should be used so as to maximise the time available for those students who are most in need of one to one support.