Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
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116. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills when the next round of DEIS schools will be announced; the assessment criteria which will be used; if schools that have an existing application will need to reapply; and if the existing assessment be adequate. [22545/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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The new Identification Process under DEIS Plan 2017, which is applied uniformly for all schools in the country across both the Primary and post Primary sectors, assesses the socio-economic background of the pupil cohort in each school using centrally held data.  The Key Data Sources are the DES Primary Online Database (POD) and Post-Primary Online (PPOD) Databases and the CSO Small Area of Population Statistics (SAPs) from the National Census of Population 2011 as represented by the Pobal HP Deprivation Index (HP Index). This determines the level of concentrated disadvantage across the school system in order to identify those schools which require the greatest level of support.

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 applied uniformly to all schools in a fair and objective way, to identify the relative level of concentrated disadvantage present in each school.

Schools are not required to apply for inclusion as all schools across the country are included in the assessment.

A communication is currently being prepared for issue to all schools. This will provide further information on the identification model, including details of how the datasets are used to determine a school's level of disadvantage; the importance of data quality to the process and the need for schools to provide detailed and up to date information to my Department's online pupil databases.

A key feature of the new DEIS identification process is its use of independent data which can be regularly updated to ensure a currency of the information on which resource allocation is based. Small Area Statistics, based on the 2016 National Census will be available later this year following which the HP Index will be updated. It is planned that the next update of the DEIS Identification Process will take place later this year when the updated Census and pupil data become available.

It is important to note that the fact that a school has not been included in the DEIS programme on this occasion does not preclude its inclusion at a later date, should its level of disadvantage warrant the allocation of additional resources.

Work will be carried out to consider designing a more tailored system of resource allocation, within which there are more grades of disadvantage identified and resources are allocated accordingly in response to the needs of individual schools;

A Monitoring and Evaluation Framework will be implemented, to improve transparency and to determine which interventions are having the greatest impact in terms of delivering better outcomes for learners;

A review will be carried out at the end of the 2017/2018 academic year to examine how the new model of allocating resources has operated;

The aim will be that, following this work, in 2018 the new model of resource allocation will be finalised, the objective of which will be to more closely match resources with identified needs in individual schools.