Robert Troy (Longford-Westmeath, Fianna Fail)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

656. To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the date on which the next round of DEIS status schools will be announced; and the timeframe for schools to apply for DEIS status or enhanced DEIS status; and if existing applications will be considered. [28000/17]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
Link to this: Individually | In context | Oireachtas source

The next update of the DEIS Identification Process will take place later this year when the relevant Census 2016 and school pupil data become available for use in this process.

Schools are not required to apply for inclusion in the programme as the independent data on which assessment is based is available to my Department.

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 to schools is based.

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).

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 in the programme as the independent data on which assessment is based is available to my Department.