Thomas Pringle (Donegal, Independent)
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45. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills his plans to make the new DEIS assessment process more transparent and more reflective of schools' needs and the needs of their pupils in the further rolling out of the new scheme; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [16503/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The new identification process developed under DEIS Plan 2017 for the assessment of schools uses centrally held data supplied by schools to my Department's Primary and Post Primary Online Databases and CSO Small Area of Population statistics from the National Census of Population 2011 as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation Index. Variables used in the compilation of the HP Index include those related to demographic growth, dependency ratios, education levels, single parent rate, overcrowding, social class, occupation and unemployment rates. This data is combined with pupil data, anonymised and aggregated to small area, to provide information on the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in the pupil cohort of individual schools. I am satisfied that this data is applied uniformly to all schools in a fair and objective way, to identify the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in each school.

The new model is explained in detail  in the DEIS plan and on the DES Website. However it is also my intention to make available to all schools detailed information relating to the identification model and how the data is used to determine a schools' level of disadvantage.  This will include the importance of quality of Primary and Post Primary Online Database data to the process and of ensuring that school data is sufficiently detailed and up to date, including, where possible, the use of Eircodes.   Arrangements for this are in hand and schools will be advised shortly. 

In relation to schools who have concerns about their non-inclusion in the most recent round of DEIS, the following process applies.

1. A verification process is currently ongoing in relation to all schools who contacted the Department. This is aimed at ensuring that the model was run correctly and the 2015/16 pupil data supplied by schools through the POD/PPOD systems was correctly used. This process is expected to be concluded shortly and schools will be informed of the results.

2. A further process will take account of updated data as it becomes available. All schools are being contacted to request them to ensure that their POD/PPOD data is fully correct and up to date, including Eircodes. As soon as the updated Census data becomes available, this data will be run through the model with the fully up-to-date POD/PPOD data. If this exercise reveals that any school which did not qualify for DEIS in the February 2017 round actually meets the criteria applicable to schools with the highest concentration of disadvantage based on the fully up-to-date information then it will be included, subject to resources.

3. As part of the announcement made in February, it was made clear that we would continue to refine the model in light of best practice. As part of this process, any other factors raised by schools in the context of their DEIS status will be considered by my Department as part of its delivery of commitments under the DEIS Plan 2017.

In addition to the implementation of this new objective and independent data-based model of identifying levels of disadvantage within school populations, the DEIS Plan 2017 commits to a further programme of work to refine the model in terms of resource allocation to evaluate the impact of individual policy measures and to create a more dynamic model where levels of resources more accurately follow the needs identified by that model.