Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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766.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills if she will make available the terms of reference, research brief and any other documentation supplied by her Department to the study group in relation to the OECD Review of the DEIS programme, a list of the individuals and groups the group were advised by her Department to interview; the additional individuals and groups the team consulted; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32416/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I invited the OECD Education for Inclusive Societies project to review Ireland’s current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage.

The aim of the review was to firstly examine the structures that determines how schools are included within the DEIS programme, how these schools are supported to meet the needs of students at risk of educational disadvantage and secondly consider how supplementary allocation procedures to meets the needs of schools that are not in the DEIS programme but are supporting students at risk of educational disadvantage.

The scope of the review was to include the supplementary supports provided by the Department of Education specifically targeted at supporting students at risk of educational disadvantage within the DEIS programme, schools’ capacity to utilise these supports and to plan, monitor and evaluate how effective the supports are. It would also consider whether these supports to schools in the DEIS programme and those provided to disadvantaged students not attending schools in the DEIS programme are consistent with good international practice.

It review was intended to focus on both DEIS schools and those who are not in the programme, in both urban and rural areas. The review was to consider supports to address educational disadvantage among students from lower socio-economic backgrounds, migrant backgrounds, indigenous Traveller students and students from ethnic minority backgrounds, such as Roma learners, as well as contextualise the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Ukrainian refugee crisis.

This review has provided an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, informs a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS.

The OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland report has now been published. You can find the report on gov.ie.

The OECD review team identified stakeholder groups with whom to meet via consultation with my department’s coordination team. The review team conducted a preliminary visit and a main visit. The preliminary visit was undertaken online, and the interviews were conducted between 27 June and 26 July 2023. The details of the interviewees are outlined in Table C.1. of the report. The main visit was then undertaken between 18 and 22 September 2023. Table C.2. of the report includes the names of the schools visited and the other stakeholders who were interviewed by the review team during this visit.

Overall, the review team held 36 meetings with approximately 60 stakeholders. The review team also visited 6 schools. The review team met with school leaders, teachers and other school staff, parents and students in each school. The visits to schools highlighted to the review team the commitment by our schools to remove barriers to education and provide equity of opportunity to all.

Throughout the review process, my department's coordination team ensured that the review team were provided with documents and information that were relevant to the review and kept up to date with developments and new publications as the review developed. As is typical in country reviews conducted by the OECD Education for Inclusive Societies project, the review team required information on Ireland’s approach to equity and inclusion through the preparation of a country background report, to enable Ireland to set its approaches in context. The country background report provides information on policies and practices that promote equity and inclusion in the education system to facilitate the analysis to be developed within the OECD project. The country background report also provides comprehensive insights into Ireland’s broader national educational landscape and policy environment from early years to post-primary, ensuring that it serves as a reliable reference that can be accurately cited by the OECD. The country background report has been published by my department and is available at on gov.ie.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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767.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills regarding the OECD review of the DEIS programme, the number of primary schools visited and their DEIS band status; the number of post-primary schools visited; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32419/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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My Department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my Department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector. While the DEIS programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage, I also recognise that there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools.

To support this work, I invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project to review Ireland’s current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage. This is not a review of the DEIS programme.

This review has provided an independent expert opinion on the current resource allocation model for the DEIS programme and, drawing on international examples, informs a policy approach for an equitable distribution of supplementary resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage attending all schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS.

The OECD Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage in Ireland has now been published and is available at the following .

The format used by the OECD Strength Through Diversity – Education for Inclusive Societies project for country reviews involves engagement with a range of stakeholders, including a visit to approximately six schools during a week-long visit to the relevant country. When undertaking similar reviews for Portugal and Finland the review team visited a similar cohort of schools.

For this review, the review team, in collaboration with the Department of Education, selected six schools for visit. The schools were chosen with the aim to maximise diversity in terms of their setting (e.g., urban and rural), their student body (e.g., size and socio-economic composition) and other characteristics (level of education, DEIS and non-DEIS, primary and post-primary), while taking into account constraints imposed by the main visit schedule. The purpose of the school visit is to give the review team a flavour of the school system in Ireland.

The review team met with school leaders, teachers and other school staff, parents and students in each school. The visits to schools highlighted to the review team the commitment by our schools to remove barriers to education and provide equity of opportunity to all.

The schools visited were:

The review team also held a further 36 meetings with approximately 60 stakeholders which included representative from the education partners, representative bodies for ethnic minorities, advocacy bodies and officials from a range of relevant Government departments.

The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my Department which will consider current allocation approaches and the recommendations from the OECD review. Consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders is an important part of this work. This work aims to develop future resource allocation policies that ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.

As part of this work a number of consultations have been held to get a broader sense of educational disadvantage in Ireland.

These consultations involved:

• Over 180 school principals and deputy principals from a mix of primary and post-primary schools, both DEIS and non-DEIS, in seven sessions held in four venues across the country.
• 18 primary teachers and 18 post-primary teachers in an online consultation coordinated by the teacher representative groups.
• 40 home school community liaison coordinators and 50 school completion programme coordinators and project workers.
• A total of 44 children and young people from urban and rural backgrounds between the ages of eight and 18 were invited to help inform the Department of Education on their educational experiences.

Following the publication of the review, my department plans to hold a further engagement with education stakeholders in the autumn, with an aim to develop tangible actions, informed by the findings of the review and the broad scope of stakeholder views, to make a positive difference for children and young people at risk of educational disadvantage.

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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768.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools included in the DEIS programme when it was commenced; the number of these that are no longer participants in the scheme or are still involved in the scheme but under a different banding designation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32422/24]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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771.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of post-primary schools included in the DEIS programme when it was commenced; the number that are no longer participants in the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32427/24]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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772.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of primary schools admitted to the DEIS programme in the years subsequent to its introduction; the number of these that are no longer participants in the scheme or are still involved in the scheme but under a different banding designation; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32428/24]

Richard Bruton (Dublin Bay North, Fine Gael)
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773.To ask the Minister for Education and Skills the number of post-primary schools admitted to the DEIS programme in the years subsequent to its introduction; the number of these that are no longer participants in the scheme; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [32429/24]

Norma Foley (Kerry, Fianna Fail)
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I propose to take Questions Nos. 768 and 771 to 773, inclusive, together.

My department provides a wide range of supports to all schools, DEIS and non-DEIS, to support the inclusion of all students and address barriers to students achieving their potential. Supplementing the universal supports available to all schools, the Delivering Equality of Opportunity in Schools (DEIS) Programme is a key policy initiative of my department to address concentrated educational disadvantage at school level in a targeted and equitable way across the primary and post-primary sector.

In March 2022 I announced the single largest expansion of the DEIS programme. The programme now includes in the region of 1,200 schools and supports approximately 260,000 students. 1 in 4 students and 30% of schools are now supported in the programme.

The tables below detail the evolution of the DEIS programme since its launch in 2006.

The DEIS programme at the primary level divides schools into four bands: Urban Band 1, Urban Band 2, Rural Primary and non-DEIS. Urban Band 1 schools face the highest levels of disadvantage compared to Urban Band 2 and Rural Primary schools. At the post-primary level, schools are categorised into DEIS and non-DEIS schools.

No school has exited the DEIS programme since its exception except for school closure or amalgamation.In general where a DEIS school is amalgamating with a non-DEIS schools, the newly amalgamated school will be considered non-DEIS but will retain some DEIS supports in respect of the students in the amalgamating DEIS school for a period. The purpose is to ensure that students who are currently enrolled in the DEIS school or whose parents had opted to enrol in the next September, prior to confirmation of amalgamation, continue to avail of DEIS supports until their primary or post primary education is completed.

The extension of the DEIS programme to new schools is just one component of my vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. While the DEIS programme supports those schools with the highest levels of concentrated educational disadvantage, I also recognise that there are students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools.

Since June 2020, and over the last four budgets, I have secured funding to provide measures to support children in this regard. These measures include reducing class sizes and the allocation of free schoolbooks to students up to Junior Cycle.

My department is continuing to undertake work towards achieving its vision for an inclusive education system which supports all learners to achieve their potential. To support this work, I invited the OECD Strength Through Diversity: Education for Inclusive Societies project to review our current policy approach for the allocation of resources to support students at risk of educational disadvantage in all schools both DEIS and non-DEIS.

The OECD's Review of Resourcing Schools to Address Educational Disadvantage was published on 18^thJuly 2024. This will be considered by my department as it develops policy to address the impact of educational disadvantage, informed by the findings and recommendations of the review.

Over the coming months my department will work with other government departments and agencies, the education partners, and stakeholders across the education sector to develop tangible actions informed by the recommendations set out in the report.

These actions will aim to build on the success of the DEIS programme to ensure that all children and young people in both DEIS and non-DEIS schools are supported to achieve in education. My department will also consider the potential to implement more immediate actions for the coming school year.

The OECD review is being complimented by a programme of work by my officials which will consider current allocation approaches and the recommendations from the OECD review. Consultation with a range of relevant stakeholders is an important part of this work. This work aims to develop future resource allocation policies that ensure that every child has an equal opportunity to achieve their potential.

In addition to this, following the National Census conducted in April 2022, an updated HP Deprivation Index has now been generated by Pobal. My department is engaging with Pobal regarding this development and this, along with other data, will be thoroughly reviewed to inform future resource allocation aimed at tackling educational disadvantage.