Joan Burton (Dublin West, Labour)
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239. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the stage the review of the school support programme through the DEIS, Delivering Equality of Opportunities in Schools initiative is at; when this review will be completed and published; if he envisages any changes to the funding or delivery model of the DEIS programme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [34776/16]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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It is my intention to publish a new Action Plan for Educational Inclusion before the end of this year.

A process to review of the DEIS Programme which began last year is now nearing completion.  The review is looking at all aspects of DEIS, including the range and impact of different elements of the DEIS School Support Programme, the potential for innovation within and between schools and its scope for increased integration of services provided by other Departments and Agencies, in order to improve effectiveness.

A new assessment framework is also being developed using centrally held CSO and DES data for the identification of new schools for inclusion. The number of schools to be included in the programme will be determined by this proposed new identification process which will assess all schools in the country. 

Among the measures to be included in the plan are a series of pilot schemes aimed at introducing measures which have been shown to work well in improving results for disadvantaged children and students. The plan is expected to include targeted measures in the area of:

- School leadership

- School networks and clusters

- Teaching methodologies

- Integration of schools and other State supports within communities

- Greater use of Home School Community Liaison services

Implementation of actions arising from the Action Plan for Educational Inclusion will begin in the 2017/18 school year, and will be a continuing theme in our wider Annual Action Plan for Education.

Further information on the DEIS Review process is available on my Department’s website at